* The two favorites in the Northeast-10 Conference will play for the title on Sunday as both Adelphi and Bentley prevailed in Thursday's semifinal round. We start in Waltham, where there were milestones amid the Falcon victory...
* Jen Gemma (15 points, 12 rebounds) became Bentley's all-time leading scorer and Lauren Green (11 points) passed the 1,000-point career plateau as the Falcons suffocated St. Anselm, 81-49. Candace Andrews (28 points, 5 assists) was sensational for the Hakws, tossing in 22 first half points to help the visitors stay close but she had minimal help, which cost St. A's their bid for an upset. The Hawks soared early, taking a 10-2 lead, but Bentley recovered and they scored the last six points of the first period to assume the lead for good (21-16). They led by as many as a dozen points in the second quarter but the Hawks notched the last five points to trim the deficit to 41-34 at the half. St. Anselm hung in the game despite poor third period shooting (3-16 FG), at least until a quick four points at the end of the frame provided Bentley with a 57-45 edge. Bentley turned up the heat as the fourth period began, scoring the first thirteen points (17-0 in all) and suddenly it was a 70-45 game (5:36). The Hawks shot even worse in the last quarter than the third (2-18 FG) and were out-scored 24-4 in the final stanza, putting the final nail into the coffin. Ali Glennon (8 points, 5 assists) was the next highest scorer for St. A's after Andrews, who moved into fifth place on the all-time Hawk scoring chart. Gemma (who went by Lauren Battista for the program scoring lead and has 2,115 at the moment), Green, Victoria Lux (18 points, 9 rebounds), Trevena Bennett (17 points, one shy of her career-high) and Macchi Smith (9 points, 9 assists) were all part of a balanced Falcon attack that shot 49%, drilled 8-17 from three-point land and submitted a 20/7 assist/turnover ratio. The Hawks shot a dreary 29% from the floor (3-16 from long-range) and compiled a 5/15 assist/turnover total and await a possible NCAA tournament at-large bid on Sunday night. Bentley, meanwhile, will try to win their twentieth NE-10 title at Adelphi on Sunday, carrying winning streaks of fourteen games overall and seventeen straight in NE-10 playoff games with them.
* Adelphi overcame a nineteen-point first half deficit to elinmate upstart LeMoyne in Garden City, 67-57, to advance to their second NE-10 title game in the last three seasons. Niajah Morgan tied her career-high with 19 points (4-9 3FG) to top the Panther scoring list and she had plenty of help from Simone Hodby (14 points, 14 boards), Sierra Clark (13 points, 9 boards), Sierra Schrader (11 points) and Calli Balfour (10 points, 12 boards, 5 steals). The Dolphins fell behind on a Hodby basket to start the game but rattled off a 9-0 run to grab the lead and eventually closed the first quarter ahead, 25-9. The margin swelled to 36-17 (5:40, second period) after five Liz Millea points but AU responded with a clutch 16-1 explosion to end the half (LC led 37-33). The teams traded the lead in a hard-fought third period (which ended all square at 48) and LC took their last lead early in the fourth quarter on a Ailayia Demand (13 points) free throw, 49-48. Adelphi bounced back with the next ten points, capped by a pair of Schrader triples, to go ahead for keeps, 58-51 (1:34). McKayla Roberts (11 points, 3-5 3FG) cut the gap to 58-54 with a trey AU had the momentum and ended the game on a 9-3 binge. Joanna Dobrovosky added 11 points and 8 boards for LeMoyne, who fell short off the glass (AU, 46-36, including 21 offensive boards) and end their season at 15-13. Adelphi, the 2015 NE-10 champions, are unbeaten at home this year (14-0) and will host Bentley in Sunday's title tilt thanks to their head-to-head 62-60 victory over the Falcons in January.