• The NE10 regular season slate is finished and the playoff seeds are set thanks to a seven-game Tuesday night. Let’s see how it all shook out, starting with the races for the #2 seed in each division…
• Adelphi won the showdown for second place in the Southwest Division, shading AIC, 59-56, consigning the Yellow Jackets to fourth place and a first round game. This one was air-tight all the way with neither team holding more than a seven point edge at any juncture. The Panthers held a 32-26 lead at the break but AIC rallied to go ahead after three frames, 42-41, and the teams were within three points of each other until the 2:21 mark, when Niajah Morgan (15 points, 8 rebounds) scored to put AU ahead, 55-51. Alyssa Guyon’s (22 points, 8 caroms; 10-15 FG) trey drew AIC within 55-54 but Emily Miccile scored the next three points for Adelphi to restore the lead to 58-54 with 1:22 to go. Rashana Siders cut it to 58-56 with :55 left but AIC didn’t score again. Fallyn Stephens made one foul shot with 23 ticks left to create the eventual final score and AIC missed three times from three-point range in the final eleven seconds to finish it. Adelphi shot it better than AIC from deep (AU 5-12; AIC 2-25 3FG) and from the line (AU 16-25 FT; AIC 6-8 FT), key components to the outcome. Leonie Edringer (15 points, 12 boards) double-doubled for Adelphi, which enters the playoffs on a six-game winning streak, and they will host St. Anselm in a Sunday quarterfinal match. Dominique Boyd (12 points) and Dana Watts (11 points, 13 rebounds) helped the AIC cause but their loss, coupled with New Haven’s win, means the Jackets drop to fourth place and will host Southern New Hampshire in a first round clash on Friday.
• A 17-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters was the catalyst for Stonehill as they beat St. Anselm, 60-48, to earn the #2 seed in the Northeast Division. The visiting Hawks flipped a 28-25 halftime deficit into a 41-37 lead after three periods but the Skyhawks scored the last two points of the quarter and carried that into the fourth. The home team held St. A’s without a point for almost ten minutes of game time, rolling up the first fifteen points of the fourth quarter to take a decisive 52-41 lead with 2:33 left. Once the Hawks finally did score it was too late as Stonehill managed the final few minutes without issue. Grace Carter (12 points), Maty Diabate (10 points) and Jennifer Worden (7 points, 12 boards, 5 assists) were the main cogs for the Skyhawks, while Peyton Stienman (17 points, 7 boards) and Shannon Ryan (16 points, 15 rebounds) provided the majority of the St. Anselm scoring. The outcome means Stonehill will host New Haven and St. Anselm travels to Adelphi for quarterfinal games on Sunday.
• New Haven clinched its spot in the quarterfinals thanks to a 55-50 win over already-crowned Southwest Division champion Le Moyne. The Chargers put together a vital 10-2 spurt in the fourth period to take the lead for good and avoid having to play in the opening round on Friday. UNH led 26-19 at the half and 41-36 after three quarters but the Dolphins notched the first eight points of the last stanza to claim a 44-41 lead (7:11). The Chargers answered with aforementioned 10-2 spell, capped by a Kim Talley trey with 20 seconds left, to move into a 51-46 lead. Camryn DeBose (12 points) then went 4-4 at the line to match LC scores from Jenna Zimmerman (13 points) and Erin Fouracre to nail it down for UNH. Alexandria Kerr (15 points) and Micah Womack (11 points) also had solid games for UNH, which shot 44% overall and was far more efficient from three-point territory than the Dolphins (6-9; LC 6-24 3FG). McKayla Roberts (17 points) and Corinne Poitevien (13 boards) supplied numbers for Le Moyne but they shot just 34% as a unit. Despite the loss the Dolphins are the #1 seed overall in the NE10 tournament thanks to a win over Bentley in the regular season and they will await the winner of Friday’s Merrimack/Southern Connecticut game in the quarterfinals on Sunday. New Haven will visit Stonehill on Sunday, as well.
• Merrimack overcame an 18-point deficit to nab a 67-64 win over St. Michael's and, twinned with Southern New Hampshire’s loss, take fourth place in the Northeast Division. SMC held a 33-21 halftime lead and pushed it to 43-25 with 6:18 left in the third period but the Warriors fought back and sliced the gap to 48-44 by the end of the quarter. They tied the game at 48 right out of the chute in the fourth quarter and took the lead for keeps thanks to an 11-0 surge later on, 61-53 (3:50). The already-eliminated Purple Knights came within three points a couple of times down the stretch yet never had possession with a chance to tie. Denia Davis-Stewart (19 points, 19 rebounds), Kate Mager (15 points) and Alyssa Casey (10 points) filled the stat sheet for Merrimack, who will host Southern Connecticut in an opening round tilt on Friday. Emily Ferreri (14 points) and Nicole Anderson (11 points) topped the St. Mike’s scoring.
• Morgan O’Donnell’s 26 points led Assumption to a 69-60 win at Southern New Hampshire, ending the Greyhounds season at .500 and forcing the Penmen to hit the road for a first round tournament game on Friday. SNHU led by one-point margins at the half (30-29) and after three quarters (47-46) but AC stayed right with them and snared control with an 11-4 spree, finished by a Brianna Capacchione (13 points) trey with 1:37 left, 63-58. The Penmen were unable to recover, squandering the chance to earn a home game in the post season despite yet another milestone for Kylie Lorenzen (17 points, 11 rebounds), who became SNHU’s all-time rebound leader during the game. Gyanna Russell added 12 points and seven boards for the Penmen but they were out-shot (46%-35%) and went a dreary 1-13 from three-point land. O’Donnell (9-11 FG, 2-2 3FG, 6-9 FT) added eight rebounds to her stat line and AC was also boosted by Brittani LeBlanc’s 10 points. Southern New Hampshire will visit AIC in a first round game on Friday with the winner traveling to Bentley on Sunday.
• Speaking of Bentley, the Northeast Division champion Falcons escaped an upset bid by nosing past Franklin Pierce in Waltham, 57-55. The Ravens, concluding their season, leapt to an 18-3 lead late in the first quarter and had Bentley in the rear view mirror for the entire first half, which ended with FPU ahead, 34-27. The Falcons chipped away and finally took the lead with 1:11 left in the third quarter on a Marissa Fontaine trey, 46-44. The game was even at 46 entering the fourth stanza but Bentley tallied nine of the first eleven points once there to earn their largest lead of the game, 55-48 (5:31). FPU didn’t waver and cut the margin to 55-53 with 4:36 to go, setting up a tense finale. Victoria Lux (17 points, 16 boards) scored with 3:50 left to extend the lead to 57-53 but Izzy Lipinski (10 points, 10 boards) matched that with 1:19 left to make it 57-55, although she did miss the attached free throw and a three-point play chance. As it turned the scoring was finished but the Ravens did have one final chance, a leaner off the glass by Lisa Sulejmani (15 points, 6 assists) that was off the mark at the buzzer. Katie Meriggioli (14 points, 6 boards) was also in double digits for Bentley, which was +11 on the glass (41-30) and kept their winning streak alive at thirteen games. Sophia Holmes (12 points) and Freya Cooney (career-high tying 12 points, ten of which came in the opening 18-3 salvo) added double digits for the Ravens, whose season comes to an end. Bentley will welcome the winner of the AIC/Sothern New Hampshire game in a Sunday quarterfinal clash.
• Two Southwest Division teams playing out the string put together an entertaining game in Albany with Pace emerging as 73-67 victors over the College of Saint Rose. The Setters seemed to have this one under control with a 36-24 halftime lead and a 56-44 edge after three periods. They widened it to 61-46 with 9:26 to play but the Golden Knights had a run in them and scored 21 of the next 29 points to get within a pair, 69-67, at the 1:43 mark. That was their high water mark, though, as they never scored again. Meanwhile, Jackie DelliSanti (10 points, 9 boards) and Alexandra Monteleone (18 points) scored for the Setters to salt it away in the remaining moments. Lauren Schetter (26 points, 7 boards, 5 assists; 10-15 FG, 6-6 FT) shined for the Setters as they shot 51% overall and ended their campaign with a victory. Karissa Birthwright (17 points; 6-8 FG, 5-5 FT) was one of four double digit scorers for the Golden Knights along with Ashley Vanderwall (15 points), Isa Vara de Rey (12 points, 7 caroms) and Cameron Graupman (10 points) but Saint Rose finished the season on a seven-game slide.