Posted: Feb 28, 2015
Comebacks are primary feature in NE-10 1st round action…
- LeMoyne rallied from a 23-point first half deficit and scored 17 of the last 21 points to stun Merrimack in North Andover, 61-58, ruining MC’s first home playoff game in a decade. The Dolphins scored the first two points of the night but were overrun by the Warriors for a while, as MC scored the next 14 points and eventually constructed a 34-11 lead with 7:44 to play in the first half. LC managed to trim the lead to 38-22 at the break despite Merrimack shooting a sizzling 58% (15-26 FG) in the opening frame. MC’s edge stayed in double digits until an Emily Greer three-pointer (10 points, 6 boards) brought LeMoyne within 48-39 midway through the second half (10:40). Aria Johnson’s basket at the 6:41 mark put Merrimack on top, 54-44, but the roof was about to cave in on the Warriors. LC finally took the lead with 1:30 left on a Vandell Andrade (17 points, 10 boards) bucket (56-55) and after trading turnovers and a Merrimack miss, Andrade made a free throw and missed the second attempt to push the gap to 57-55 with 18 ticks left. The Dolphins grabbed the offensive rebound off the miss, leading to a pair of FT’s from Bath-Sheba McMahon (10 points, 10 rebounds) and it was a 59-55 game. Another MC turnover preceded a pair of Alex Marple (18 points) foul shots (61-55, :06), rendering Allison Wagner’s trey at the horn a footnote. The Dolphins, who had not won 17 games since the 2001-’02 campaign, were out-shot by Merrimack (47%-37%) but feasted at the line (16-22; MC 6-10 FT) and forced seven more turnovers (15-8). Chloe Rothman (14 points) and Tia Scott (13 points, 8 boards, 6 assists) keyed MC, which had a 26-6 bench advantage. LeMoyne advances to play at Adelphi in an NE-10 quarterfinal tomorrow.
- AIC ended the game with an 18-4 run to collect a 52-43 win over St. Michael’s in the other NE-10 opening round tilt, earning a trip to Stonehill for a quarterfinal game tomorrow. The Yellow Jackets trailed 39-34 with 8:51 left after Purple Knight Makenzie Burud (17 points, 10 rebounds) scored but SMC could only muster two baskets thereafter. AIC scored the next seven points to take the lead at 4:18 (41-39); Maggie Sabine tied the game for SMC with 3:55 left (41-41) but AIC again put up a 7-0 stretch, baskets from Alyssa Roach and Krista Ferrentino (17 points, 12 boards) surrounding a trey from Brianna Bishop (12 points), to go ahead for good, 48-41 (1:23). Burud’s hoop cut the gap to 48-43 but Bishop and Ferrentino each sank a pair of free throws to secure the win for the home team. SMC led by as many as nine points in the first half (21-12) but AIC spooled a 10-3 run to end the half with SMC on top, 24-22, and it stayed close the rest of the way. Kamika Mason added 13 points and 13 rebounds for AIC, which won the board battle (47-36) and had a slim edge in shooting (33%-29%). Burud and Indira Evora (11 points, 11 boards) scored the bulk of the St. Michael’s points in a losing effort. Neither team was accurate from three-point land (SMC 5-17; AIC 3-17 3FG) and free throws were not a major factor, either (AIC 9-12. SMC 4-6 FT).
Redhawks and Pioneers claim big ECC wins …
- Double-doubles from Lucy Covley (22 points, 12 boards, 4-12 3FG) and Marissa Sell (17 points, 18 rebounds) plus a solid night from Necedah James (13 points) fueled Roberts Wesleyan to a 65-48 win at NYIT, bringing the Redhawks even with Queens for 2nd place in the ECC with one game left. RWC (winners of six in a row) snared the lead for good thanks to a 14-2 first half flurry (27-13, 3:44) and led 33-21 at the half. The Bears hung around for a spell but a 9-1 RWC run pushed the margin back to double figures for keeps (46-31) with 11:15 to go, the spree populated by triples from Covely, James and Brooke Fields. The Redhawks were dominant on the glass (63-43) and limited NYIT to 24% from the floor while shooting 36% at the other end. Shanice Allen (16 points) was the sole Bear to reach double figures; their best feature was forcing turnovers (+13, 28-15) but they didn’t take full advantage of the extra possessions, out-scoring RWC in points-off-TO’s only 16-15. NYIT is deadlocked with LIU Post for 4th place in the ECC with one game to play, meaning they will face each other in the ECC’s opening round next week with only the venue to be decided.
- LIU Post pinched a hard-earned 70-65 win over Daemen in Brookville behind the exploits of Chelsea Williams (29 points, 11 rebounds, 13-15 FT) and Nyasia Davis (17 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, 10 of them offensive boards). The Pioneers led for most of the opening half (the Wildcats led twice, briefly) but the margin at the interval was just 33-31. The teams traded the lead with regularity in the second half, neither unit enjoying more than a five point lead the entire half. Sarah Saba’s (20 points) basket at 6:14 gave Daemen its last lead (59-58) and her three-pointer with 3:16 left tied the contest for the final time at 62. Essence Casey put LIU Post ahead to stay (2:44, 64-62) and a pair of Quanisha Ratley free throws made it 66-62 with 1:43 left. After a Leah McDonell foul shot, Williams and Shy Britton swapped field goals to make it 68-65 with 14 seconds to go. Williams sank two more free throws with 12 ticks left to seal the win for the Pioneers. Daemen shot the ball with more accuracy (45%-36%) but the Pioneers more than made amends for that at the line (LIU Post 21-33; Daemen 9-11 FT) and off the glass (LIU Post 48-30, including 22-7 in offensive caroms). The Pioneers host Roberts Wesleyan in a nationally-televised game tomorrow with a lot on the line for both teams.