Posted: Mar 16, 2019
- The Division II NCAA East Regional tournament began at the Bobby Morgan Arena in Philadelphia on Friday and produced a few close games with points generally at a premium. The NE10 sent three teams to the regional final four, joining the host team/#1 seed. The regional semifinals on Saturday will feature seeds 1-4-6-7 for the first time since 2004 but let's get going with the first roud games in chronological order..
- Stonehill (#6 seed) started the day with a pulsating 86-77 win over Jefferson (#3 seed), never trailing on the way to their twentieth victory. The Skyhawks jumped to a 9-2 lead and, although the Rams came back to tie at 17, didn't fall behind at any juncture. Their first half lead crested at 33-22 (5:00) and it was a 38-35 halftime scoreline. The third quarter was a cagey one but Stonehill pushed the span to 61-52 by the end, the largest the gap had been to that point. Jefferson quickly cut it to 61-57 with the first five points of the fourth quarter but an elongated 21-11 spell stretched the margin to 82-68 (2:36) and put the Skyhawks firmly in control. One more Jefferson burst, a 9-1 run featuring a pair of treys from Caitlin Cunningham (24 points, 5 boards, 5 assists), drew the Rams within 83-77 with 55 ticks left but the Skyhawks, who shot 9-10 from the field in the last frame, didn't let it slip. Stonehill placed a trio of players in double digits, Kayla Raymond (22 points, 8 caroms; 9-12 FG, 3-5 3FG), Jennifer Worden (17 points, 7 helpers, 5 rebounds) and Isabella Santoro (10 points). Shooting (54% FG), rebounds (49-38) and bench scoring (30-2) were particular Skyhawk strengths as they won at least one NCAA tournament game in a single season for the eighth straight time. The Rams recieved the bulk of their pop from Cunningham, Beverly Kum (16 points, 11 boards), Alynna Williams (16 points, 6 rebounds) and Jessica Kaminski (14 points, 7 boards) but shot just 35% overall. The Rams did take better care of the ball but both outfits were on the plus side in assist/turnover ratio (Stonehill 27/17; Jefferson 14/7). The loss means the Rams are still searching for their first NCAA tournament win since 1998 but it's the lower seed, Stonehill, which moves on.
- On the same side of the bracket an all-NE10 affair saw St. Anselm (#7 seed) never trail as they beat Bentley (#2 seed) for the first time in four tries this season, 59-40. The Hawks led this low-scoring tilt 27-8 at the half, restricting the Falcons to a dismal 3-24 shooting (12.5%) performance. The second period (14-2) was a profitable one for the Hawks, who won an NCAA tournament clash for the first time since 1999, also the last year they won 20 games until now. St. A's widened the lead to as much as 23 points (36-13) before Bentley's only real surge of the day (11-2) cut it to 38-24. Still, the Hawks stabilized and nailed down the win in the last quarter, ending a run of futility against Bentley that had seen them lose 32 of their last 33 meetings. Peyton Steinman (21 points, 7 rebounds) and Shannon Ryan (10 points) topped a Hawks effort which shot 43% and made 6-17 from three-point land. Katie Meriggioli's 10 points topped the Falcons scoring but their touch (30% FG; 5-22 3FG; 27 turnovers) deserted them and they end the season with the exact same record (28-4) as last year. St. Anselm will face Stonehill in the next round, the first time since 2004 that a #6 and #7 seed will play each other in this region. It will also be the first time these two teams have crossed paths in the NCAA's since a pair of games in the mid-90's (1994 regional semifinal and 1995 regional final), both won by Stonehill.
- Order was retored in the night session but it was not easy. Top seed and host University of the Sciences held off a dogged #8 seed, NYIT, to nail down a 46-41 win and gain a spot in the regional semifinals. Another low-octane contest, the Devils didn't score for nearly eight minutes but led after one period, 6-4. The halftime tally was 19-17 yet it did feature a 7-0 Sciences run that gave them the lead for good (15-9). Status quo was maintained in the third frame (31-26) but the Bears clawed within 36-34 before the Devils finally created some elbow room. An 8-0 spurt led by five Irisa Ye (19 points) markers and a trey from Alex Thomas (13 points) made it a 44-34 game with 2:56 left, the only time the lead hit double digits. NYIT immediately cut the arrears in half (44-39, 1:05) but came no closer. Sciences shot just 35% overall and 3-20 from long-range yet managed to stay ahead once they got there in the first game ever between these two teams. Ketsia Athias (13 points, 13 rebounds) was productive for the Bears but their shooting (35% FG; 3-17 3FG) was just as dreary as the Devils. The victory means Sciences has won at least once in three straight NCAA tournaments.
- The last game of the night also went according to chalk but it was another one with points scarce, as #4 seed Le Moyne shaded #5 seed St. Thomas Aquinas, 55-43. The victory is the first one in NCAA tournament history for the Dolphins (who lost on their only other visit in 2002) and the first time they've ever beaten the Spartans (0-2 previously). The Spartans only lead was 2-0 in this one with a 9-2 burst giving LC a lead (9-2) they didn't squander. A 7-1 run to end the half put the Dolphins ahead by double digits for the first time (28-18) and it grew to 40-27 after three frames. The Spartans whittled it to 40-33 out of the gate in the fourth quarter and came as close as six points down the stretch (47-41, 1:23) but no closer. McKayla Roberts (15 points and her 200th career three-pointer), Jenna Zimmerman (11 points, 11 boards), Liz Millea (10 points) and Corinne Poitevien (9 points, 14 caroms) were at the helm for LC as they out-shot (46%-23% FG) and out-rebounded (41-26) the Spartans. STAC was paced by Emily Preston (13 points, 8 boards), Ruth Adams and Zaria Thomas (10 points each) and stayed in the game thanks to a +14 in turnovers (25-11). Despite the loss, STAC wraps up an excellent two-year spell (53-10) in which both seasons culminated in an NCAA berth. Le Moyne will tackle top seed Sciences in the other regional semifinal on Saturday.