Posted: Mar 02, 2015
NE-10 quarterfinals yield an upset in Easton; three Southwest teams advance …
- AIC pulled off the stunner of the day in the NE-10 tournament by beating Stonehill on the road in overtime, 73-64, keeping alive its post season. The Yellow Jackets trailed only once after halftime but could not put the Skyhawks away until the extra session, earning a trip to New Haven for the semifinals on Thursday as a reward. Stonehill led by as many as five points in the first half, which ended even at 32. An early 9-2 surge in the second period put AIC in front, 41-36, with 15:23 to play, yet that was as large as their lead got in the period. The only Stonehill lead came at the 11:16 mark after an Amy Pelletier three-pointer (her only basket), 46-45, and it was quickly answered by a 6-0 run from AIC. The visitors led 56-52 into the final two minutes but four free throws from Tori Faieta (18 points, 11 boards), the latter pair at :57.9, tied matters at 56. AIC had two chances to win in regulation (a miss followed by an offensive rebound) but both went by the boards. They rectified that by jumping to a quick 64-58 lead by notching eight of the first ten points of the OT and never looked back. Stonehill drew within 66-62 but AIC hit 5-6 at the line down the stretch to nail down the victory. Kamika Mason nearly tripled her average with a career-high 22 points (9-19 FG, 4-5 FT; 12 boards) to lead AIC and she had help in the forms of Krista Ferrentino (21 points, 11 caroms), Brianna Bishop (15 points) and Alyssa Roach (11 points). Faieta, Kelly Martin (18 points, 10-12 FT) and Paige Marshall (11 points) topped the Skyhawk effort. AIC shot better (41%-35%), won the paint (42-26) and forced six more turnovers (20-14) to help them get over the finish line. Both teams made two three-pointers but AIC was a lot more efficient (2-6; Stonehill 2-15 3FG) while the Skyhakws made some inroads at the line (22-26; AIC 15-20 FT). Stonehill, which lost for the first time at home all season (12-1), awaits a likely NCAA tournament at-large bid despite the loss.
- The Southwest Division top seed Adelphi beat LeMoyne, 82-70, to move on to the semifinals in Garden City. The Panthers were paced by the quartet of Anh-Dao Tran (20 points), Kelly Mannix (19 points, 9 rebounds; 8-12 FG, 3-6 3FG), Samantha Brenner (14 points) and Calli Balfour (10 points, 8 caroms) as they steadily built a 52-38 halftime edge. The Dolphins hung around and used a 9-2 spell midway through the final frame to trim the deficit to 63-58 (9:29). AU immediately responded with the next ten points (73-58, 3:38) over a six-minute span but LC stayed with it and came up with a 10-2 stretch to again make it close (75-68, 1:09). The Panthers iced it at the line, though, dropping in 7-8 in the final minute to wrap it up and win for the fifth straight time. LeMoyne had strong games from Alex Marple (19 points, 10-13 FT), Vandell Andrade (15 points), Emily Greer (12 points, 10 boards) and Bath-Sheba McMahon (10 points, 11 rebounds) in the setback. Adelphi’s advantages included shooting (48%-40%) and turnovers (+11, 24-13), the latter leading to a 24-8 plus in points-off-TO’s. LC won the board battle, 44-30, (AU had only two offensive caroms) but fell short overall. Adelphi will host an NE-10 semifinal on Thursday against Franklin Pierce.
- New Haven sped past Assumption, 72-48, riding two massive runs to get the job done. The Chargers blew the game open early thanks to a 25-2 bomb, giving them a 32-9 bulge with 3:33 left in the first half. Give the Greyhounds credit for not fading away; they cut the lead to 34-17 by the half and eventually closed to within 49-46 with 9:01 to play. That was UNH’s cue for another explosion, this one a 23-2 run (including 14 foul shots) to end the contest. In fact, UNH scored the final 19 points to rub out AC in style. Aquillin Hayes (23 points, 10-19 FG, 3-4 FT), Bria Moore (12 points) and Rykema Stone (8 points, 10 rebounds) topped the stat sheet for New Haven, which flourished at the line (21-25; AC 9-14 FT), in ball-handling (+11 in turnovers, 23-12; 18-7 in points-off-turnovers) and from the floor (39%-29%). Jaclyn Storey (19 points, 8 boards), Allison Stoddard (11 points) and Caitlin Ackerman (10 caroms) keyed the Greyhounds but after recovering from one big run, they couldn’t do the same again. UNH will host Southwest Division foe AIC in one of Thursday’s semifinals.
- Franklin Pierce eliminated Southern Connecticut in Rindge, 70-56, to book their spot in the NE-10 semifinals. A 9-2 burst put the Ravens ahead to stay early (18-11, 11:44) and they closed the first half with a 7-1 stretch to craft a 32-23 halftime cushion. FPU stayed on top and when Jessica Hurd (16 points, 8 boards, 5 steals) scored with 11:26 left to make it 46-35, the Ravens had a double-digit lead they never sacrificed. Natalie Bastian (17 points), Alison Palma (11 points) and Kara Charette (10 points, 6 boards) also helped the Raven cause as they shot 48%, held SCSU to 29% at the other end and won the glass scrap, 41-31. Jackie Beathea (11 points, 7-10 FT) and Sydni Lester (10 points) were the only Owls to reach double digits. The Ravens will travel to Long Island for a Thursday semifinal at Adelphi.
Pioneers win on national stage to complete ECC slate…
- The final ECC regular season game was played out in front of a national TV audience and they watched LIU Post secure a hard-earned 69-61 win over Roberts Wesleyan. The result means RWC ends as the #3 seed in the ECC tournament (Queens wins the tie-breaker and gets the bye that goes with the #2 seed) and hosts St. Thomas Aquinas in the ECC 1st round on Wednesday. The Pioneers were already locked into a trip to NYIT (not a lengthy one, of course) in the other ECC 1st round game but still came up with a big effort. LIU Post actually led all the way, their advantage peaking at 28-11 (6:17) after a 15-3 run. The Redhawks clawed back and ended the stanza on a 12-2 surge (Lucy Covley had eight of her team-high 18 points in the spell) to make it a 30-23 halftime tally. RWC chipped away at the Pioneer lead and came within a point on a number of occasions but never tied or took the lead. Marissa Sell (12 points, 10 boards) scored at the 3:10 mark to pull RWC within 58-57 but LIU Post put up the next seven points (a trey from Jalyn Brown starting it) and suddenly it was a 65-57 game with 49 seconds left. Samantha Courtney and Necedah James (11 points) scored to cut the deficit to 65-61 but four free throws from Ashley Castle (16 points, 8 boards) iced the win for the home team. Chelsea Williams (25 points, 7 assists) and Nyasia Davis (15 points, 15 boards; 7-8 FG) were also in double figures for LIU Post, which had the upper hand in shooting (42%-35%) and at the line (11-15; RWC 4-5 FT). Brooke Fields (14 points) was the fourth Redhawk in double-digits as they battled hard yet still saw their six-game win streak come to an end.