Women's Game Recaps #77 - 2/24/16

Posted: Feb 24, 2016
  • The NE-10 and CACC both completed regular season play on Tuesday night, settling all the playoff matchups and seeds that go along with it. A recap of the evening’s festivities begins with the most jumbled division, the NE-10 Southwest…

 

  • AIC slid past Adelphi, 61-59, to win their eighth game in a row, avenge last year’s NE-10 title game defeat and send the Panthers tumbling to the #5 seed in the NE-10 Southwest. A 15-0 Yellow Jacket explosion in the third period staked the Jackets to a 53-39 lead late in the frame but the home team battled back with a 14-2 carry-over run to trim the deficit to 55-53 with 5:00 left. AU was within two points a few more times, the last with 1:13 left (60-59) after an Ashley Gomez (16 points) hoop. Imani Stepney tacked on a free throw for AIC to make it 61-59 and Adelphi’s chance to win (or tie) went by the boards as Tara Flynn missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, meaning the Panthers will trek to Franklin Pierce on Friday for a first round playoff tilt. Ebony Easter (14 points; 5-5 FG, 3-3 3FG), Kamika Mason (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Dana Watts (13 points, 10 boards) led the way for AIC, which dominated the glass (54-32) and hit 14-18 at the line. Lauren Nuss (14 points) added double digits for Adelphi as they forced ten more miscues (23-13) but fell just the same. These two teams may face each other again soon, since AIC will host the survivor of the AU-FPU contest in a Sunday NE-10 quarterfinal.

 

  • Southern Connecticut took advantage of the morass in the NE-10 Southwest to claim the #2 seed thanks to a hard-fought win over already-eliminated Pace, 58-54. The fourth period was the Owls saving grace, since the Setters held a 39-37 edge after three frames. The contest was deadlocked at 48 with 4:14 left before SCSU made a decisive move, posting an 8-2 spell sparked by Taylor McLaughlin (five of her 22 points; she also had 8 rebounds) and Nicole Grossbard (three foul shots) to grab an unassailable lead, 56-50 (:21). Jackie Beathea (13 points, 12 rebounds) was also vital for the Owls, which grabbed eight more boards (44-36) to help off-set 32% shooting. Kirsten Dodge (11 points, 10 boards, 6 blocks) was a force for the Setters but their season is done. Southern Connecticut will host Assumption in a Sunday NE-10 quarterfinal clash.

 

  • The duo of Briana Bradford (26 points, 6 boards, 8-12 FT) and Lauren Hebert (24 points, 11 boards, 8-10 FT) vaulted New Haven to a 75-70 victory over LeMoyne, allowing the Chargers to rise to the #3 seed in the NE-10 Southwest and earn a playoff bye. LC, meanwhile, slots in as the #4 seed and will host Stonehill in a Friday first round joust. UNH’s big run here was a 15-2 burst in the fourth quarter, pushing a slim lead into a 61-47 advantage with 5:30 to play. The Dolphins kept plugging away and eventually got the margin down to 73-70 with 29 ticks left. They ran out of gas there, though, and two single foul shots for the Chargers wrapped it up. Vandell Andrade (19 points) and Lauren Salzbrenner (18 points, 4-6 3FG) led the LC effort but UNH was the better unit in terms of foul shooting (27-37; LC 10-12 FT) and rebounds (36-26). The Chargers will head to St. Anselm for an NE-10 quarterfinal game on Sunday.

 

  • Bentley won the 999th game in program history and gave head coach Barbara Stevens her 950th all-time win in the process, knocking off Merrimack in Waltham, 58-50. The NE-10 Northeast champion (and top seed overall) never trailed but also never really shook off a determined Warrior team that had to win in order to advance to the post season. The Falcons, who led by as many as 13 points (48-35 early in the fourth quarter), watched MC cut the deficit to 48-44 with 3:07 to go after a 9-0 run. That proved to be as close as the guests came and Bentley massaged the lead to the end. Jen Gemma (20 points, 8 rebounds) and Megan Lewis (12 points, 7 rebounds) led a Falcon offense that shot 37% overall but only 29% in the second half. Tia Scott (18 points) and Ashley Weissmann (15 points, 6 caroms) were productive for Merrimack despite the defeat. Bentley awaits the winner of the LeMoyne-Stonehill game and will host the winner in an NE-10 quarterfinal game on Sunday.

  

  • St. Anselm completed an excellent regular season with a convincing 65-48 win at crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire and heads into the playoffs as the #2 seed from the NE-10 Northeast. The Hawks grabbed the lead for good with a 14-2 closing run in the first period and held a 32-17 halftime bulge. Try as they might, the Penmen couldn’t get any traction thereafter and end their season on a down note. Candace Andrews (16 points, 7 assists), Caitlyn Abela (14 points, 4-9 3FG) and Samnell Vonleh (14 boards, 6 blocked shots) were among the key contributors for St. A’s, which out-shot SNHU, 44%-28%. Sara Ryan led the Penmen with 12 points off the bench. The Hawks host New Haven in an NE-10 quarterfinal game in Manchester on Sunday.

 

  • Franklin Pierce won the battle but lost the war to Assumption last night; the Ravens dealt the Greyhounds a 76-60 defeat to forge a tie for third place in the NE-10 Northeast but then lost the tie-breaker, meaning FPU has to play a first round game on Friday. The Ravens held a 42-36 halftime edge and expanded that to 49-36 by notching the first seven points out of the locker room. That set the stage for them to keep AC at bay the rest of the way; the visiting Hounds never got any close than nine points during the fourth period. Kara Charette (20 points, 7 rebounds; 12-14 FT), Jemma Thacker (16 points, 6-7 FG, 4-4 3FG), Natalie Bastian (14 points) and Dyamond Gardner (13 points, 7 caroms, 6 assists) shared the load for FPU as they shot well across the board (50% FG, 9-15 3FG, 19-21 FT) and won the glass, 35-24. Jo Impellizeri (16 points) was AC’s only double figure scorer. The Hounds travel to Southern Connecticut on Sunday in an NE-10 quarterfinal game while Franklin Pierce hosts Adelphi in an opening round clash on Friday, the winner to travel to AIC on Sunday. 

 

  • St. Michael’s completed its first season sweep of Stonehill in 25 years, collecting a 77-69 victory to wrap up their season. The defeat was virtually irrelevant for the Skyhawks, who annexed the #5 spot in the NE-10 Northeast by virtue of Merrimack’s loss, and will head to LeMoyne for a first round game on Friday. Stonehill never trailed in the first half (their peak lead was eleven points) but the Purple Knights carved the gap down to 32-30 by the break. After a Skyhawk hoop to begin the second half, SMC went on an 11-0 surge to go ahead for good (41-34, 5:16 in the third period). The Skyhawks trimmed the Purple Knight lead to three points a couple of times in the fourth quarter but SMC stood tall and sank 7-8 at the line in the final 46 seconds to secure the win. Makenzie Burud (22 points, 9 boards), Megan Gaudreau and Indira Evora (15 points each) topped the SMC ticket as they dominated in second-chance points, 23-5. Kelly Martin (21 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds) flirted with a triple-double to head the Stonehill attack while Shannon Brown added eleven points.

 

  • One of the few issues in the CACC still left to decide coming into the evening’s action was the #4 seed in the South Division. That spot will go to Chestnut Hill despite their 83-78 overtime loss to the South’s regular season winner, Philadelphia. Oddly, the Griffins never led in this game and there was just one tie, 69-69 at the end of regulation. Until then the Rams led by as many as fourteen points (52-38 at the 4:24 mark of the third period) but CHC stayed in the hunt. Mary Newell’s (22 points, 7 boards, 5 picks) basket with 1:08 left put the Rams ahead, 69-65, only to see Lauren Milligan make two foul shots (:16) and Mary Trossi (29 points, a personal-best; 6 assists) score with four ticks left to level the score and force overtime. Philadelphia asserted themselves once there, scoring nine of the first eleven points (78-71, :35) to drain any further drama from the game and win their sixth in a row. Tori Arnao (17 points, 8 rebounds) and Jessica Kaminski (16 points, 7 caroms) lent Newwell support for the Rams while Brittany McDonough (14 points) and Jaeda Wildgoose (11 points, 11 boards) provided depth for CHC. The Griffins, who will visit Bloomfield in Saturday’s quarterfinal round, won the board scrap (51-39) but committed fourteen more turnovers (23-9). The Rams will welcome Nyack on Saturday in another CACC quarterfinal game.

  

  • Holy Family defeated Wilmington in Newark, 76-64, to eliminate the host Wildcats from CACC playoff contention while also gearing up to defend their league crown. An 11-3 close to the first half sent the Tigers into the break ahead, 38-30, and they added the first five points out of the half (16-3) to stretch the lead to 43-30. Tenicia Spence (27 points, 7-11 3FG) got WU back into it almost all by herself, drilling four triples in the latter stages of the period to cut the margin to 54-50. HFU stiffened at that point and pulled away in the fourth quarter led by the quartet of Abigail Iannotti (20 points, 11 boards), Jill Conroy (17 points), Erin Fenningham (14 points, 8 boards) and Kasey Woetzel (12 points). Ashri Broadwater (11 points) and Lindsay Bradford (10 points) added depth for the Wildcats as they end their season over .500. The Tigers, who host Dominican in a CACC quarterfinal game on Saturday, shot 46%, pulled in thirteen more boards (44-31) and shined at the line (16-21; WU 6-12 FT) to punctuate the win.  

 

  • The CACC’s top overall seed is Bloomfield, which drilled Nyack, 79-60, to reach a Division II program-high 22 wins. The Warriors will still advance to the CACC playoffs despite the loss but will go to Philadelphia on a four-game slide. The Bears used an 11-0 first half run to claim a 41-35 halftime lead and pressed the issue after that, slowly widening the margin. Ariel Wilson (24 points, 10 boards, 9 assists) nearly amassed a triple-double to lead BC, while Tianna Smith (19 points) and Chyna Golden (13 boards) also played well. Tori Trador (20 points, 5 steals) and Jessica Logemann (16 points) topped the Nyack stat sheet. Bloomfield, who will host Chestnut Hill in a Saturday CACC quarterfinal, was the better team in shooting (41%-33%) and rebounding (49-37) while Nyack sank 10-16 from three-point range at the other end to stay in contention.

 

  • Caldwell trampled Felician, 87-49, to reach the 20-win plateau and head into the CACC playoffs with momentum. A fast start (29-8 after one period) sent the Cougars on their way and the Golden Falcons, down 51-19 at the half, had no answer for them. Kristen Droglser (15 points, 7 steals) and Sharell Sanders (12 points) led a balanced Caldwell attack as they shot 45% overall, made a dozen three-pointers and hammered Felician in turnovers (26-13, leading to a 38-8 advantage in points-off-mistakes). Eliana Scanlon led the Golden Falcons with 26 points, including the 1,000th of her career, but her team shot only 32% overall (4-17 from three-point land) and closed the season on a seven-game slide.

 

  • Dominican sent Post packing for the season with a 63-33 beating and will travel to Holy Family on Saturday for a CACC quarterfinal clash. The Chargers led most of the way here, holding a 32-18 halftime bulge and surrendering only fifteen second half points. Deja Gabbidon (14 points, 9 boards), Lisa Bouffard (12 points, 7 caroms) and Aliyah Alston (12 points) led the DC attack, one which ruled the glass (53-30) all night. Toni Deren’s ten points led the Eagles scoring but they shot terribly all evening (23% FG, 2-16 3FG, 9-22 FT) to ruin any chance they had of making this a game.

 

  • Goldey-Beacom overcame a slow start to win a spirted contest over Georgian Court, 67-61, as both teams completed their seasons. The Lions jumped to a fast 9-0 lead and held the upper hand into the fourth quarter. The Lightning finally took the lead for the first time with 6:57 to go (53-51) and never trailed again. Jaelyn Tweedy’s three-pointer drew GCU within 63-61 with 37 seconds left but Lexi Bruno (28 points) snuffed out the rally with a basket and a couple of free throws after that. Marissa Howard (20 points) was also sharp for GBC, which made up for 37% shooting by going to the line more often (GBC 17-19; GCU 4-5 FT). Alliyah Berger (23 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assist) was Georgian Court’s best on show as they shot 43% from the field.

 

  • The respective Division II national polls were released yesterday with minimal representation for the East regional teams. In the WBCA/USA Today Sports poll only AIC even received votes while in the D2SIDA version, AIC is #16, Roberts Wesleyan is #22 and Bentley received votes. The far more important NCAA Division II regional rankings will be out later today.