* The Northeast10 is down to its final pairing after two highly competitive semifinal games on Thursday. The recap starts in Garden City, where the top overall seed was eliminated…
* NE10 Player of the Year Shannon Ryan had a huge game (35 points, 19 rebounds; 15-22 FG, 5-5 FT) to lead #2 Northeast Division seed St. Anselm to a 70-59 victory over #1 Southwest Division seed Adelphi. The Hawks shot 50% as a team and used a 9-0 binge to start the fourth quarter to wrest control and lock up their first trip to the NE10 title game since 1999. Peyton Steinman added 18 points, eight boards and six assists for the guests, who have won five in a row. Adelphi was at their best in the first quarter, shooting 13-20 (2-7 3FG) on the way to a 28-16 lead after one frame. Their potency fell off a cliff after that, as the Panthers shot just 8-47 the rest of the game, including going 1-14 from three-point land. St. Anselm started the second period with a 13-2 run to pull within 30-29 and, although they never had the lead in the first half, got to the break even at 36. The third period was a dead heat (14-all) with neither club leading by more than four points. The decisive stretch turned out to be the first four minutes of the fourth quarter as Ryan scored five points in the aforementioned 9-0 run, putting the Hawks ahead for good, 59-50. Adelphi whittled the gap down to 62-57 with 3:13 to go on a Fallyn Stephens (14 points) trey but McKenzy Ouellette sank two foul shots (2:27) and Grace Guachione (9 points, 7 assists, 5 boards) came up with a steal and basket at the 2:05 mark to make it a 66-57 game and kill any lingering AU comeback hopes. Katie Murphy (19 points, 5 assists) and Emily Miccile (10 points) led the Panther attack but they shot just 31% overall and were battered on the glass, 46-28. Turnovers favored Adelphi (19-8) but they were just a +5 in points-off-TO’s (11-6) and saw their eleven-game win streak come to an end. The Panthers still have a very good chance to host next weekend’s East Regional but must wait until the tournament selection show on Sunday night to know for sure. St. Anselm, meanwhile, will travel to Stonehill for Sunday’s title game, looking to win their second league playoff title (1991 was their only one).
* #1 Northeast Division seed Stonehill knocked off the defending NE10 tournament kingpin, Le Moyne, with a heart-stopping 55-53 victory in North Easton to earn their place in the title tilt. Gabrielle Reuter (16 points, 6 boards, 5 assists) and Kayla Raymond (11 points, 6 assists) led the Skyhawk attack in this low-scoring affair. The #2 Southwest Division seed Dolphins didn’t take their first lead until less than four minutes remained in the first half (14-13, 3:49) but annexed a 20-19 edge into the break. Their last lead came with 5:59 to go in the third period, 27-26, after a Colleen Corcoran (11 points, 9 rebounds) three-point play. McKayla Roberts (12 points) brought LC within 32-31 with 3:00 left in the frame but Stonehill exploded with the final eleven points of the quarter, five from Reuter and capped by a buzzer-beating trey from Kelsey Shaw (43-31). The home team’s lead crested at 47-33 with 8:17 to play when Le Moyne got into gear. A 16-4 surge chopped the deficit to 51-49 at the 2:27 mark and touched off a tense point-swapping sequence. Reuter (2:04) and Corcoran (1:00) traded buckets, followed by Shaw scoring off a Reuter back-door feed (:46) and a Roberts drive (:38) to make it 55-53. The Dolphins forced a Stonehill turnover and had a last chance to tie or win but Roberts’ trey was off the mark and the Skyhawks survived. Liz Millea topped LC with 15 points and they shot better than Stonehill from long-range (6-19; Stonehill 3-16 3FG) but lost the board battle (36-28). Despite the defeat the first in their last five games) the Dolphins stand a very good chance to nab an NCAA tournament at-large bid. The win means Stonehill (now on an eleven-game winning run) reaches the NE10 title game for the second time in three seasons and the twelfth time overall (they own five titles, the last in 2008). The Skyhawks will host St. Anselm on Sunday, the teams having split the season series with each winning on the road.