Posted: Mar 12, 2018
Women’s Game Recaps #79 – 3/12/18
- For the first time in 23 years the Stonehill Skyhawks have won the Division II East Regional by virtue of a hotly-contested victory over the University of the Sciences, 71-61, on Monday night in North Easton, Massachusetts. Tournament Most Outstanding Player Kelly Martin (18 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 1 turnover) led the way for the winners but she had plenty of help. Grace Carter had a career-high 15 points (5-5 FG, 4-4 3FG, 5 boards) and All-Tournament selection Elizabeth Grip (13 points, 5-8 FG) held down the middle for Stonehill and they had others who made key contributions, including All-Tournament pick Courtney Walsh (8 points; she now has 998 for her career) and Jennifer Worden (6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists off the bench). Sarah Abbonizio (27 points; 9-18 FG, 8-10 FT, 6 rebounds) was magnificent for the Devils (57 points in the regional) and was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammate Alex Thomas (11 points, 5 rebounds). Irisa Ye tossed in 11 points off the pine for Sciences, who end their best season ever at 30-4. Stonehill led most of the way, taking the lead for keeps (bar one tie) on a Martin basket with 2:03 left in the first period, 11-10. The Devils fell into a 22-14 hole with 7:21 to play in the first half after a Martin trey but rallied to tie at 24 (10-2 run) with 4:37 to go with three-pointers from Thomas and Colleen Walsh part of the run. Even so, the long ball wasn’t kind to the Devils on this night as they shot just 4-18 from long-range. The Skyhawks had a quick response, running off an 11-2 binge to go into the break ahead, 35-26, with Carter starting the burst with a pair of triples. Stonehill’s lead crested at eleven points twice after the restart, the final time at 40-29 (6:57 of the third frame) after a Courtney Walsh three-pointer. Sciences again fought back, this time closing the quarter on an 8-2 spell to cut the deficit to 44-42 by the end of the period. They were within two points again early in the fourth period (48-46, 8:30) after a Thomas triple but a basket by Grip and a trey from Courtney Walsh made it a 53-46 game with 7:31 left. That set the pattern for the rest of the game, Sciences scoring but Stonehill answering each time. The Skyhawks last ten points came at the line (10-12 in the final 3:00), keeping the Devils chasing all the way yet never gaining ground. Martin canned 6-6 at the stripe in the final stretch to cap a regional where she made every foul shot she tried and scored 51 points. Stonehill had the edge from the field (47-36%) and from long-distance, drilling 8-19 from behind the arc. The host and #1 seed Skyhawks also were +5 on the glass (36-31) and put together the better assist/turnover ratio (18/16 to Sciences 8/11 totals). Free throws were mostly a wash (Stonehill 15-21; #3 seed Sciences 17-22 FT) as were the other ancillary stat categories. The last time Stonehill (29-3) won the regional (they won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995) the region was known as the New England Regional and their nickname was the Lady Chieftains but they now move on to the Elite Eight in Sioux Falls, South Dakota next Monday with their seed and opponent to be determined in the next few days.