Memorable games – Part 1 – Stonehill outlasts Bentley in 2009 4OT epic
By Stephen Zerdelian
In advance of their first meeting of the season, and in the first of an occasional series here in the Chronicles, we look back at a classic rivalry game
Since the start of the 2003-’04 season, only one game in the region has extended to four overtimes. It just so happened to be one of the great Division II rivalries that provided it, when Bentley visited eternal foe Stonehill on January 28, 2009. With their first game since February 5, 2020, on tap next Tuesday, let’s take a look back at that 60-minute thriller more than a decade after it took place.
Both Northeast-10 Conference teams were on the way to 20-win seasons that culminated in NCAA tournament visits, so this game (as with so many others in the series) pitted strong foes. Trisha Brown’s Stonehill squad already had a win over Barbara Stevens’ Bentley team in their pocket, a 64-59 victory in Waltham on January 3, so they felt confident as this one tipped off at the Merkert Gymnasium.
An 8-0 run gave Stonehill a 19-11 lead midway (10:42) through the first half, a spell capped by an Emily Rousseau trey. Stonehill held the lead into the halftime intermission, 32-22. So far, nothing special. Rousseau (a transfer guard from Maine) made it a 34-22 game early in the second half but the Falcons stayed in touch. Still, a three-pointer from sharpshooter Kristen McWhirter gave Stonehill a 51-40 edge with 8:45 to go, and it seemed Bentley might have run out of steam.
Not so fast. The Falcons roared back and trimmed the deficit to 54-48 at the 3:22 mark after a trey from versatile guard Kim Brennan. Pivot Kelsey Simonds countered for the Skyhawks with a layin (56-48) a little over a minute later but that was Stonehill’s last regulation score. Dynamic wing Kristy McLean made a pair of foul shots (1:52) and Brennan sank another long ball to draw Bentley within 56-53 with 1;16 to go. After a pair of empty possessions, Rousseau stepped to the line with 15 ticks left but the 87% foul shooter misfired on the front end of a 1+1. Bentley’s Meghan Thoman made it hurt with a three-pointer with :09 left to tie matters at 56, leaving Stonehill time for a final shot but instead they turned it over. Thoman’s attempt to win it with another try at the horn was off and overtime was required. All told, Bentley had posted a 16-5 surge in the last seven minutes to get the game into OT, impressive given the fact they trailed almost the entirety of regulation.
The first OT session produced only ten points, the last of which came from an unlikely three-pointer by Simonds (she made just eight all season) with 30 seconds left to tie it at 61. Brennan missed on the last possession for Bentley and the game went on another five minutes.
So you thought the first overtime was points-shy? Well, the second one coughed up only eight points. McWhirter gave the Skyhawks the lead at 65-63 (:24) but forward Colette Josey buried a pair of free throws with eight seconds left to knot it at 65. Rousseau missed at the horn and the beat went on.
A relatively explosive third overtime saw each club tally ten points and swap the lead a few times. Rousseau put the home team up, 73-72, with 1:08 left but McLean matched that (:51) and Angela Manfredi made a free throw with 21 ticks left to make it a 75-73 Bentley lead. Skyhawk forward Bethany Tighe (a 92% foul shooter) was the next hero to step into the light, grabbing an offensive rebound, drawing a foul and dropping in two foul shots with :08 left. Thoman’s long trey missed and, yes, OT #4 was a reality.
At some point, something had to give and it finally did in the fourth OT, although it wasn’t easy. Josey’s layin tied the game for the final time (77-all at 3:59) but Rousseau gave Stonehill the lead for good with a three-pointer (3:45). Bentley stayed in range thanks to a Thomas triple (1:33), 83-82, but they didn’t score again. Megan Methven’s three-pointer for the Skyhawks missed with :40 left but Josey, an 84% foul shooter, missed two FT’s seconds later. Simonds (who scored nine of the 12 Stonehill points in the fourth OT) made it hurt as she drilled 4-4 at the line, sandwiched by a missed three-pointer by McLean, and that was that, 87-82.
There were a glut of notable performance to note. Simonds (30 points, 16 boards, 7 blocked shots; 13-17 FT) led the Stonehill stat sheet and she had plenty of company. Rousseau (16 points and 7 assists in 51 minutes), Tighe (11 points and 10 rebounds in 55 minutes), McWhirter (13 points in 51 minutes) and Methven (10 points and 9 boards) all had big games for the Skyhawks.
McLean (20 points, 11 boards) played every single second of this one, logging an astonishing 60 minutes to tie the all-time NCAA Division II record. It was a performance Stevens was suitably impressed by.
“I distinctly remember that I couldn't take Kristy McLean out of the game - we needed her on the court every minute of the 60 she played! After the game was over it amazed me that she could maintain the high level of energy and competitiveness throughout the entire game - the kid had incredible stamina,” said Stevens.
Brennan actually led the scoring for the Falcons with 22 points and played 51 minutes of her own. Thoman (12 points on 4-11 3FG), who attempted zero free throws or two-point shots, was also at the 50-minute mark, while Lauren Massie (13 points) played 46 minutes.
The teams were interestingly similar when it came to overall stats. Both shot just under 37% from the floor and had quiet games from behind the arc (Bentley 9-25; Stonehill 8-21 3FG). Neither had great games at the line (Stonehill 17-24; Bentley 15-20 FT) but how about the fact that in 60 minutes only 44 foul shots were attempted? Nice rhythm to the game, partly due to just 37 fouls (21 against Bentley, including five on Brennan, the sole player to foul out). If there was a statistical edge, it may have been Stonehill 58-49 advantage on the glass (25-18 in offensive boards), but that is a slight reach.
Although there were no buzzer-beaters in this one (you’d think there might be at least one in a game that had five potential endings!), the high level of play sustained it. The game had ten ties and nine lead changes, most of them coming after regulation play.
Bentley lost their next game but recovered enough to advance to the NE10 championship game six weeks later, losing to Franklin Pierce. The Falcons ended with a 21-12 mark, dumped out of the NCAA tournament by AIC. Stonehill, meanwhile, lost four of their next six games but also made the NCAA field. The Skyhawks (22-9 overall) advanced to the NCAA regional final but fell to Franklin Pierce to end their season.
Among all the legendary games between Bentley and Stonehill, this one sometimes is overlooked. After all, going into the 2021-’22 season they’ve played 112 times yet only four times have they required overtime (Bentley leads, 3-1). Nonetheless, the rarity of a four-OT contest is notable under any circumstances and since it’s the region’s only one in the last 17 years, it deserves a spot in the collective consciousness.