Posted: Mar 02, 2018
Women’s Game Recaps #74 – 3/1/18
- It was the NE10’s turn on stage Thursday night with semifinal action in North Easton and New Haven. The region finally had a lower seed win a playoff game (although calling it an upset wouldn’t be accurate) while the top seed had to rally to reach the title game. The recap starts with the latter…
- Stonehill fought back from a 12-point deficit late in the third quarter to nip LeMoyne and move on to the NE10 championship game, 58-55. This game featured a number of twists and turns but in the end it was the Skyhawks who prevailed. The home team ended the first quarter on a 9-2 binge to take a 24-15 lead, their largest of the night. A great defensive performance from the Dolphins flipped the game on its ear in the second period, though. LC scored the first fourteen points (29-24) and kept Stonehill scoreless until the 1:49 mark of the period. In the end it was a 17-5 stanza for LC, who toted a 32-29 lead into the locker room. The trend continued into the third frame, as LeMoyne notched a 13-4 burst to kick off the period; in the end it was a 30-9 spell over a more than sixteen-minute span and it staked the guests to a 45-33 lead with 3:37 left in the third quarter. Kelly Martin (16 points, 5 assists), the NE10 Player of the Year, dragged the Skyhawks back into it with a pair if three-pointers, keying an 8-0 run to end the frame (LC, 45-41). The margin stayed in single digits for LC (with a max of five points) deep into the fourth period but Stonehill finally passed the Dolphins with 2:33 left on two Elizabeth Grip (8 points, 7 boards) free throws, 54-53. Joanna Dobrovosky (10 points, 13 boards) answered at the 2:16 mark with a bucket from the lane to give LC their last lead (55-54) and, as it turned out, last points. Samantha Hyslip (14 points) put the Skyhawks back ahead to stay with a pair of FT’s at the 1:55 mark and then teams both went dry after that. LeMoyne had a chance to win with the last shot but a McKayla Roberts (14 points, 4-4 3FG; 5 assists) floater in the paint in the dying seconds fell short. Hyslip grabbed the rebound and locked it up with two more FT’s with 1.9 ticks left; Roberts’ half-court toss at the horn was off-line. Courtney Walsh added 11 points and 5 steals for Stonehill, which had an edge at the line (11-16; LC 3-5 FT), most of which came in the final period (10-12 FT). Nicole Riddick (15 points, 6 boards, 4 steals) and Courtney Webster (10 points, 7 caroms) were effective for the Dolphins, who made 6-9 from three-point land as a unit yet still fell short and saw their season end. Stonehill, 16-1 all-time against LC in Merkert Gym, has won seventeen games in a row and will host the NE10 championship game for the first time since 2008, which was the last time they won it.
- Bentley will be Stonehill’s opponent in the NE10 final on Sunday as the Falcons dropped Southern Connecticut State in the other semifinal, 64-51, at Moore Field House. Meghan Lewis (career-high-tying 21 points; 11 rebounds, 9-17 FG) was the key for the winners, who also had solid support from Victoria Lux, Lauren Green (11 points each) and Macchi Smith (8 points, 8 rebounds). The Falcons never trailed, taking the lead for good on a 10-3 first period surge (13-6), and they scored the last six points of the half to establish a 32-20 edge at the interval. The Owls came as close as 42-39 in the third period after a 7-3 run but Bentley stiffened and ended the quarter on a 6-1 spell to make it a 48-40 score going into the final period. Another 7-3 run, this time in the fourth quarter, brought SCSU within 51-47 (7:19) but they couldn’t sustain it. Bentley responded with a 10-2 binge (61-49, 2:55) and that was that. The Falcons won the glass, 43-33, and out-shot their hosts, 38-29%, from the floor. Africa Williams (15 points), Paige Decker and Kiana Steinauer (10 points, 8 boards apiece) all played well for the Owls, who will now wait anxiously on a possible NCAA at-large bid on Sunday night. The victory means Bentley will part of the NE10 final for the seventh time in the last eight years (28th finals appearance lifetime) and chasing their 20th crown. The Falcons, now on a six-game win streak, are also the first team in the region this season to win a road playoff game in any conference.