Posted: Mar 04, 2016
- Thursday was the Northeast-10’s turn to shine with a pair of semifinal games which provided plenty of thrills…
- Macchi Smith’s three-point play with seven seconds left propelled top-seeded Bentley to a tight 78-74 win over Southern Connecticut to secure their place in the NE-10 championship game. The Owls ensuing possession ended with a Megan Lewis steal, her fourth of the night, leading to a Smith foul shot to seal the result. SCSU started the contest with the first six points but the Falcons answered with a 13-2 binge, setting the tone for the evening, one of runs each way. It was a 19-all tie after one period and even at 27 midway through the second quarter when Bentley erupted on a 17-3 burst, led by Lewis’ dozen points (she had a career-high 21 overall, adding 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 assists), to snag a 44-30 edge. The Owls trimmed it to 44-33 by the break, presaging a strong start to the second half. Out of the locker room SCSU put up a 13-3 surge (16-3 in all) to cut the deficit to 47-46 (6:02). They kept it going and finally reclaimed the lead at 53-52 (2:28) thanks to a Jackie Beathea basket (only points of the game). Bentley closed the frame on a 6-2 flurry (leading 58-55 at the end) and held a 72-65 advantage after a pair of Lauren Green (12 points) three-pointers with 4:38 left but Southern Connecticut wasn’t done and responded with the next nine points to grab their final lead, 74-72, capped by a Maria Wesleyj (14 points) drive with 1:36 to go. That was their last score, however, as Lewis converted a drive at the 1:06 mark to tie it at 74. SCSU missed on its next trip, leading to the Smith lefty drive/banker with the foul added to give the Falcons the lead for keeps. Jen Gemma (20 points, 7 boards) was also in double digits for Bentley as they shot an even 50% overall and converted 15-17 at the line. Taylor McLaughlin matched her career-best for the Owls (22 points) while Danielle Powell added 14 points and 5 rebounds. SCSU shot 42% as a unit and out-scored Bentley in bench points, 27-19, but fell agonizingly short. Bentley, on a 14-game NE-10 tournament winning streak, will host the NE-10 title game on Sunday against AIC.
- Brianna Bishop racked up a season high in points (27) and a career-best in assists (10) as AIC recovered from a slow start to eliminate New Haven in the other NE-10 semifinal, 75-67. The visiting Chargers blasted out to a 20-5 lead less than eight minutes into the game, putting the Yellow Jackets on their heels. AIC responded by scoring 19 of the next 23 points, spanning the first two periods, to even matters at 24. They led 33-32 at the break and pushed to a 42-38 edge midway through the third quarter before exploding on a 10-0 surge, started and ended by three-pointers (the first by Bishop, the last from Ebony Easter). The ensuing 52-38 lead carried to the end of the frame, when AIC held a 57-42 edge, their largest of the night. UNH stayed in it and whittled the margin down to 62-56 at the 4:12 mark but came no closer, with AIC nailing the door shut at the line in the 1:05 (6-6 FT). Bishop (7-13 FG, 5-10 3FG, 8-8 FT) was excellent and had solid support from Dana Watts (13 points) and Kamika Mason (11 points, 14 caroms) as AIC shot better (48%-38%), won the glass (33-23) and proved efficient at the line (17-18 FT) and from three-point range (8-15 3FG). Lauren Hebert (19 points, 7-7 FT), Alexandria Kerr (15 points, 8-8 FT), India Dotson and Briana Bradford (13 points each) supplied the majority of the Charger ammunition as they also shot well from the line (26-30 FT), although not quite as well as AIC from long-distance (5-17 3FG). AIC, on a current regional-best ten game winning streak, will make its second straight NE-10 championship game appearance (they lost at Adelphi last season) as they head to Waltham on Sunday.