Posted: Feb 29, 2016
- The NE-10 is down to its final four and the ECC has its playoff field set. Sunday’s recap starts with post season play in the NE-10 and its top two seeds escaping serious upset bids…
- Jen Gemma scored a career-high 34 points to lead Bentley past Stonehill in Waltham, 54-50, in the process sending the Falcon program to the 1,000-win plateau, the first non-Division I outfit to reach such a lofty level. Stonehill played their part in a gripping contest, pushing the NE-10’s top seed to the limit. Samantha Hyslip’s (11 points) foul line jumper with 45 seconds left tied the game at 50 (the eighth tie of the day) but the Falcons reclaimed the edge thanks to a Jane White foul shot at the :30 mark, 51-50. Shannon Brown missed in the lane at the other end, leading to a pair of Gemma (13-22 FG, 3-5 3FG, 5-7 FT; 9 rebounds) foul shots and a 53-50 game with ten seconds to play. Kelly Martin’s (8 points, 8 boards, 6 assists) off-balance trey was off the iron for the Skyhawks and Victoria Lux put the win away for Bentley by dropping in a foul shot with two ticks left. These teams were never separated by more than seven points all day, Stonehill scoring the first basket of the third period to claim a 29-22 edge. They stayed on top until an 8-0 Bentley burst spanning the third and fourth quarters gave the home team the lead, 42-39, capped by a Gemma trey. Gemma was Bentley’s only double digit scorer, coming within one point of the program record. Courtney Walsh (11 points) joined Hyslip in doubles to lead the Skyhawks. Most team stats were fairly close, although Bentley had the upper hand in the paint (28-10) and in points-off-turnovers (15-4), negating their poor three-point shooting (4-18 3FG). The Falcons will host Southern Connecticut in one of the NE-10 semifinal games on Thursday.
- A 13-4 fourth quarter surge helped AIC get away from Adelphi in Springfield, 93-84, sending the Yellow Jackets into the semifinals on a nine-game winning skein. This was a high-scoring tilt form the start (the Panthers led 26-19 and 50-48 after the first two periods) with AIC nudging ahead after three frames, 69-66. Calli Balfour (11 points, 10 rebounds) tied matters at 74 with 7:05 to go for AU, which turned out to be the spark for AIC to get going. They came up with the killer 13-4 spurt over the next five minutes, energized by seven free throws from Dana Watts (career-high 22 points; 12 rebounds, 10-11 FT). AU was unable to gain much ground after the AIC run (87-78, 2:00) and was summarily dethroned as NE-10 champion. Kamika Mason (18 points, 11 boards), Brianna Bishop (16 points) and Jayda Gilmore (10 points) added depth for the Yellow Jackets, who shot 48% from the floor, pulled in eleven more rebounds (43-32) and pitched a tent at the line, going 38-49. Six Panthers reached double digits with Tara Flynn (21 points, 7-15 3FG) sparkling from deep. Sierra Clark (13 points) and Ashley Gomez (12 points) also played well for AU as they made 10-31 from deep and canned 20-26 at the line. AIC moves on to the semifinals, where they host New Haven.
- Lauren Hebert (career-bests of 29 points and 14 rebounds) set the tone for New Haven in their 71-52 win at St. Anselm in Manchester, the only road team to win at the NE-10 quarterfinal stage. The Chargers held a modest 36-33 halftime lead, only to see the Hawks rally to snare a 41-38 lead early in the second half thanks to a quick 7-0 flurry. UNH answered that with a 12-2 burst to go ahead for good, 50-43 (2:32). They led 52-45 after three frames and stamped their authority in the fourth quarter, posting a 6-0 run midway through the stanza to extend the margin to 62-52 (3:47); the Hawks came no closer than nine points the rest of the night. Briana Bradford (14 points, 6 rebounds) and Alexandria Kerr (13 points, 6 boards, 5 assists) added quality depth for New Haven while the duo of Ali Glennon (3-7 3FG) and Samnell Vonleh (8 boards) tossed in 15 points each to lead St. Anselm. New Haven had the better of it from the field (45%-32% FG) and forced eight more turnovers (23-15) as part of their successful effort. The Chargers visit AIC in an NE-10 semifinal on Thursday.
- Southern Connecticut pulled away from Assumption in the fourth quarter in New Haven to secure their place in the NE-10 semifinals, 70-60. Danielle Powell (20 points, 8-8 FT), Jackie Beathea (17 points, 16 boards) and Maria Wesleyj (12 points) led the scoring for the Owls, which shot better (48%-36% FG), got to the line more often (21-30; AC 17-19 FT) and proved more efficient from three-point land (3-8; AC 3-24 3FG) than the Greyhounds. SCSU led 32-26 at the half and 48-41 after three periods, so the game was still up for grabs into the latter stages. The Owls grabbed full control at the outset of the last quarter, however, putting together a 10-2 spell that widened the gap to 58-43 (6:36). Assumption never recovered (the lead stayed no less than nine points thereafter) and saw its season come to a close. Kelly Conley (17 points), Allison Stoddard (14 points) and Ann Marie Idusuyi (12 points) topped the AC attack. The Owls, however, will move on to a semifinal date at Bentley on Thursday.
- The campaign’s last regular season game saw Queens go wire-to-wire to knock off Daemen, 76-65, to lock up the #2 seed in the ECC tournament. MacKenzie Rowland was sensational for the Knights, racking up a triple-double (18 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists), while Madison Rowland (23 points, 8 boards, 7 steals) and Kristen Korzevinski (20 points) were more than sharp in support. QC scored the first seven points of the match and never looked back, leading at the half, 33-30. The Wildcats cut the deficit to 33-32 out of the break thanks to a Leah McDonell (10 points) basket but Queens answered with an 8-0 jaunt (41-32) and held a 54-44 edge after three periods. The Knights opened the last frame with another 8-0 run to make it a 62-44 game and take the starch out of Daemen. Sarah Saba (15 points) was the top Wildcat scorer but her team committed thirteen more turnovers (24-11), which hampered their attack. Queens wins the ECC tie-breaker with UDC to nab second place and the attached tournament bye and will enter the playoffs on a six-game win streak.