Posted: Feb 26, 2018
Women’s Game Recaps #71 – 2/25/18
- The NE10 quarterfinals were center stage on Sunday as well as the final two games of the ECC regular season. All of the top seeds have advanced thus far in the NE10 festival, setting up a pair of #1-#2 semifinal games on Thursday, while the ECC playoffs begin on Wednesday. This report begins with the only post season game on NE10 quarterfinal day that was in doubt in the second half…
- Bentley pushed past Pace in the NE10 quarterfinals in Waltham, 70-62, capping a game of sweeping runs with a decisive fourth quarter. The Falcons advance to their 34th tournament semifinal appearance in 37 years as a result but this one was chock full of twists and turns. Pace threw the first punch, a 12-0 blitz that gave them a 28-17 lead with 5:09 left in the first half, but the Falcons responded with a 14-2 binge to shutter the half on top, 31-30. Bentley kept the pressure on once the game resumed, posting a 12-4 surge (26-6 overall) to extend their lead to 43-34 with 5:02 to go in the third frame. Once again Pace answered, this time with a 19-5 spell to end the frame and take a 53-48 lead. Alexandra Monteleone (20 points) buried the first basket of the fourth quarter to make it a 55-48 game (21-5 run) but the Setters scored only seven more points in the game. Bentley, which scored 22 of the last 29 points, finally took the lead for keeps on a Lauren Green (15 points) hoop with 4:55 left (58-56). Pace didn’t have another run in them and sustained the loss which ends their season. Victoria Lux (15 points, 11 boards) had her 14th double-double of the campaign (Bentley is 14-0 in those situations) in support of Green along with solid games from Becca Musgrove (14 points) and Meghan Lewis (12 points, 8 boards). Lauren Schetter (15 points, 7 rebounds) and Jackie Dellisanti (10 points, 8 rebounds) played well for the Setters but couldn’t prevent the outcome. Bentley advances to a Thursday NE10 semifinal game at Southern Connecticut.
- Speaking of Southern Connecticut, the Owls were the beneficiary of a sensational performance from Abby Hurlbert in their 75-64 NE10 tournament decision over Southern New Hampshire in the Nutmeg State. Hurlbert scored a career-high 38 points (only two shy of the all-time SCSU record held by Cathy Inglese and four short of the all-time NE10 tournament mark held by Franklin Pierce’s Jewel White) on 11-20 FG, 7-11 3FG and 9-10 FT shooting. The Owls blew the game open in the second period, riding separate 12-0 and 8-0 runs to craft a 49-29 halftime bulge. SNHU tried to chip away at the margin and did get as close as 69-62 with 3:44 left but the Owls didn’t buckle and closed the game on a 6-2 spurt. Murphy Murad (10 points) and Kiana Stienauer (15 rebounds) bolstered the Owls attack as they surpassed the Penmen from three-point land (SCSU 13-25; SNHU 8-27 3FG) and at the line (SCSU 18-22; SNHU 12-14 FT) while out-scoring SNHU in points-off-turnovers, 20-0, in the contest. Catherine Stinson (13 points), Jennifer Shelp and Molly Terry (12 points each) led the SNHU scoring but their season likely came to a close in this one. SCSU will host Bentley in an NE10 semifinal clash on Thursday.
- Top overall NE10 seed Stonehill had no trouble blasting defending tournament champion Adelphi, 90-65, in North Easton, to set up an NE10 tournament semifinal date with LeMoyne on Thursday. The Skyhawks, now on a sixteen-game win streak, soared to a 15-2 start and led 25-8 after one period, putting the Panthers on the back foot for good. Stonehill held 46-21 and 72-39 leads at the next two checkpoints to highlight their superiority. Samantha Hyslip (20 points, 11 rebounds; 7-9 FG, 6-7 FT) topped the Skyhawk offense and she had plenty of help from the likes of Kelly Martin (16 points, 8 boards), Grace Carter (12 points) and Elizabeth Grip (11 points). Team stats favored the home team, especially in field goal shooting (51-34%), rebounds (49-36), three-pointers (11-7) and ball-handling (assist/turnover ratio of 25/10 to AU’s 8/6). Emily Miccile (13 points) and Simone Hobdy (11 points, 6 boards) led the Panthers scoring as they wrap up their season.
- McKayla Roberts (27 points, 7 assists; 10-16 FG, 7-9 3FG) turned in a superb outing to spark LeMoyne to a 77-49 NE10 tournament victory over St. Anselm in Syracuse to send the Dolphins to a semifinal date at Stonehill on Thursday. The Hawks, behind Shannon Ryan and Peyton Steinman (13 points and 8 rebounds apiece), were only down by a 36-29 halftime count but LC started the second half on an 11-2 jaunt (47-31) and the lead never dipped below double digits thereafter. Joanna Dobrovosky, Courtney Webster (13 points each) and Madison Purcell (10 points) also chipped in with double figures for the Dolphins, who were exceptional with the ball (20 assists and only 3 turnovers), shot 51% from the floor and sank 12-16 from long distance. The Hawks couldn’t keep up with those numbers, shooting just 33%, hitting only 3-16 from deep and committing more than twice as many turnovers than assists (6/13).
- NYIT locked up the #4 seed in the ECC (and with it a home playoff game) by handing Daemen a 61-51 defeat to complete the regular season for both teams. Maia Hood (19 points, 12 boards) was the central figure for the Bears, who claimed the lead for good with a 10-0 third period surge. NYIT led 46-41 after three frames but the Wildcats whittled the gap down to three points a few times, including 52-49 with 4:43 to go. The Bears closed matters with a 9-2 run with three-pointers from Nina Vukosavlejevic (7 points, 8 boards, 6 assists) and Shalie Frierson starting the spree. Taylor Tripptree (8 points, 11 rebounds) also played a key role for the Bears, who made solid inroads at the line (14-19; Daemen 3-5 FT) and pulled in more rebounds (52-43) than the Wildcats. Sarah Saba (15 points), Caroline White (11 points, 8 caroms) and Tiara Filbert (11 points) were atop the stat sheet for Daemen, who go into the ECC playoffs as the #6 seed and will visit #3 Roberts Wesleyan in a first round game on Wednesday. NYIT will host #5 seed Queens on the same night.
- LIU Post won for the eighth straight time and earned the ECC regular season title outright with a 70-62 victory over Roberts Wesleyan. Sasha Patterson (27 points, 20 rebounds) was a force for the Pioneers while Mikaiya Moore (14 points, 10 boards) also had a vital double-double alongside. The Redhawks held an early 6-2 lead but LIU Post notched 20 of the last 25 points of the frame and never relinquished the lead. It was 41-26 at the break but RWC slowly crawled back into it, eventually closing the margin to 66-62 with 1:14 left after a 9-2 spell. That was as close as they came, though, and the Pioneers were able to lock it down thereafter. Taya Andrews (14 points), Taylor Bynoe (13 points) and Emily Miller (12 points, 9 boards) played well for the Redhawks, who will have a home first round ECC playoff game on Wednesday (against Daemen) and then host the ECC Final Four (win or lose). LIU Post awaits the Queens/NYIT winner in the ECC semifinals on Saturday while St. Thomas Aquinas, the #2 seed, meets the RWC/Daemen winner on the same day.