* On a day when the first official NCAA East Regional rankings were released, we had a Wednesday night full of near-upsets in the NE10. In the end, the favorites won but it wasn’t without drama. The recap starts in Garden City…
* Adelphi wrapped up the NE10 Southwest Division regular season crown with a come-from-behind overtime victory over Pace, 63-59. A tight one all the way (five ties, seven lead changes and a spread of no more than eight points), the Setters led 32-28 at the half, 41-37 after three frames and into the fourth quarter. The Panthers stayed in touch and pounced to tie at 54 after an Emily Miccile basket (1:01) and a Fallyn Stephen (10 points) triple with 36 ticks left. That took the game to OT, where hoops from Leonie Edringer (22 points, 13 boards; 9-17 FG) and Miccile gave AU a lead for good with 1:11 left, 60-56. Jackie Dellisanti’s (14 points, 8 boards, 7 assists) three-point play at :15 cut the deficit to 60-59 but Edringer made two foul shots to restore the lead to 62-59 (:14). Pace’s next trip resulted in a miss, allowing Katie Murphy (15 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists) to ice the win, AU’s eighth in a row, with a foul shot (:08). Lauren Schetter led Pace with 19 points and 8 boards (8-11 FG, 3-4 FT) but the Setters dropped into fourth place in the division, albeit still only one game (loss column) out of second place.
* Barbara Stevens picked up her 900th win as Bentley mentor but it took overtime for her Falcons to repel gritty Assumption in Waltham, 80-73. The home team scored the first ten points of the game and led all the way into the fourth period, their advantage cresting at 48-33 with 2:18 left in the third quarter. The Greyhounds battled back and forged ties at three ties before taking their only lead of the night, an Emme Poulin trey with 1:23 left in regulation putting AC ahead, 61-59. Monica Viapiano (20 points, 9 boards; 8-12 FG) tied it with 1:01 to go at 61, sending the game into the extra frame. Once there the Falcons never trailed, rattling off an 11-2 surge to take control (72-63, 1:56) and managing things from there. Ella Thompson (career-high 23 points; 7 boards, 7-14 FG, 4-9 3FG, 5-6 FT) and Kari Brekke (18 points) joined Viapiano in topping the Bentley stat sheet with Megan Lewis (5 points, 9 assists, 9 caroms, 2 steals) lending a strong floor game. Brianna Capacchione (career-high 30 points; 8-21 FG, 5-12 3FG, 9-9 FT) was superb for the Hounds with Meghan Reen (13 points, 6 assists) riding shotgun. Bentley was +18 on the glass (58-40) and out-shot AC (48%-31%), making amends for committing a dozen more turnovers (25-13). The Falcons stay even with St. Anselm for second place in the NE10 Northeast Division while Assumption drops a half-game behind idle Southern New Hampshire in the chase for fourth place.
* Peyton Steinman (30 points, 6 assists, 5 boards; 10-16 FG, 3-5 3FG, 7-8 FT) and Shannon Ryan (21 points, 11 rebounds; 10-14 FG) accounted for 51 points as St. Anselm rallied to dodge an upset bid from Franklin Pierce in Rindge, 63-59. Raven Izzy Lipinski netted a career-high 32 points (14-23 FG, 4-6 FT) and added 9 boards and six steals in a terrific effort on the flip side in a contest with six ties, six lead swaps and no lead larger than seven points. FPU trailed 31-29 at the half but enjoyed a 9-0 and 10-3 third quarter binges to help craft a 50-43 lead entering the last stanza. They still led 56-49 with 4:21 to go but Ryan scored all the Hawks points in an 11-3 run to put them ahead, 60-59, with 2.1 seconds left. The Ravens called an illegal timeout at that juncture, leading to a pair of Stienman foul shots to make it 62-59, and she tacked on another to wrap the game up and snap a two-game slid for St. A’s. Lisa Sulejmani added 16 points, 5 boards and 5 assists for FPU, which is out of the playoff picture thanks to the defeat.
* Micah Womack (15 points, 12 rebounds) reached the 1,000-point mark as New Haven edged local foe Southern Connecticut, 61-56, to jump into third place in the NE10 Southwest Division. The Chargers used an 8-3 run to close the first half on top, 26-25, and never lost the lead in the second half. Still, the Owls stayed close and were within 53-49 with 40 seconds to go after an Imani Wheeler (10 points, 8 assists) trey, but the Chargers went a perfect 8-8 at the stripe in the last 27 ticks to salt the game away. Brie Pergola (17 points) and Camryn DeBose (16 points) also played key roles for UNH as they out-shot SCSU (38%-30%) and enjoyed a serious advantage at the line (UNH 22-25; SCSU 5-8 FT). Jessica Fressle (16 points) and Alexa Kellner (11 points, 6 boards) contributed solid games for the Owls, who have lost three in a row but are still just one game out of a playoff spot in the loop.
* Stonehill clinched at least a share of the NE10 Northeast Division title by wiping out St. Michael’s in Vermont, 84-51. The Skyhawks did their work in the first half, ending the first period on a 24-2 burst to take a 30-10 lead and arrived at the half with a hefty 52-20 bulge, All thirteen Skyhawks in uniform scored with Kayla Raymond (14 points, 6 boards), Gabrielle Reuter and Emily Bramanti (12 points each) leading the parade. Nicole Ladas (11 points) and Taylor Miller (10 points) fronted the Purple Knights effort but they were second best from the floor (Stonehill, 50%-38% FG), three-point land (Stonehill 10-25; SMC 3-17 3FG) and off the glass (Stonehill, 42-29), and have lost nine in a row. The Skyhawks, who have won eight straight games (and are 12-1 in their last thirteen), can secure the top seed in the division with a win in the regular season finale against Southern New Hampshire on Saturday.
* Le Moyne coasted to a 73-44 win at AIC to keep their grip on second place in the NE10 Southwest Division with a quartet of players sharing the load. Colleen Corcoran (19 points, 7 boards; 6-11 FG), Jenna Zimmerman (18 points, 9 rebounds; 7-13 FG), Liz Millea (14 points; 6-11 FG) and McKayla Roberts (13 points, 6 assists) all played strong games for the Dolphins as they out-shot (49%-36%) and out-boarded (37-25) the Yellow Jackets. LC led all the way, opening with a 12-2 salvo and establishing a 43-21 edge by the intermission. Destinee Perry (14 points, 5 rebounds) and Asia Turner (10 points) submitted double figures for AIC but they had ball security issues (an inferior assist/turnover ratio of 8/20, as opposed to LC’s 19/10) and were beaten in points-off-TO’s, 29-5. The Jackets, despite a four-game slide, still have control of the last playoff spot in the division.
* The ECC had none of the drama the NE10 did, which was good news for St. Thomas Aquinas, which got back on the winning track with a 58-45 decision at Queens. The Spartans notched the last 15 points of the first quarter to assume a 17-5 lead and never lost it, getting to the break ahead, 31-20, and stretching it to 47-28 by the end of the third frame. Melissa Sadler (14 points, 6 boards; 7-11 FG) and Alexa Huertas (11 points) led the way for STAC, which won the glass, 38-26, and solidified their second place status in the ECC. Brianne Moxley (16 points) and Raiana Brown (10 points, 7 boards) keyed the Knights effort. QC has lost its last four games yet still holds the final ECC playoff spot.
* Molloy rode the trio of Kadijah Dickson (23 points, 8 rebounds), Gabriella Aspuru (16 points, 10 boards) and Kathryn Gibson (14 points) to a 71-55 win over Mercy, keeping the Lions even with New York Tech for third place in the ECC. Molloy grabbed a 45-34 lead by the half and extended it to 65-44 after a strong third quarter, giving the Mavericks no real chance at a comeback. Abigail Collier (22 points, 11 boards; 12-12 FT) and Katie Wall (14 points) shined for Mercy but they have now dropped six in a row and are out of playoff contention. Molloy was the better unit in most areas here, including shooting (44%-25% FG), although Mercy did fare well at the line (26-28 FT to Molloy’s 13-18 effort).
* New York Tech made it five straight wins by bagging a 65-51 decision over Bridgeport to keep pace with Molloy in the race for third place in the ECC. Ketisa Athias (19 points, 8 boards; 8-12 FG), Shalie Frierson (15 points, 6 boards; 6-10 FG) and Meg Knollmeyer (15 points, 5 steals) were the ringleaders for the Bears but they had to battle to get past the Purple Knights. NY Tech led 37-36 at the half and 56-52 after three periods, leading into a low-scoring fourth quarter. The Bears held UB scoreless more than seven minutes while slowly extending their lead to 60-52 with 3:18 to go. UB tried but never came within one possession thereafter and missed a chance to move into the last playoff spot in the ECC. Jaqualah Holliman (11 points), Gracen Kerr (10 points, 5 assists) and Samirah Henderson (10 points) led the Purple Knight scoring in a contest that saw eight ties and eight lead changes.
* As mentioned earlier, the first official NCAA regional rankings came out yesterday with Adelphi, Stonehill, Sciences and Bentley the top four East regional teams. Daemen and St. Thomas Aquinas took the #5 and #6 spots with St. Anselm, Le Moyne, Pace and Molloy rounding out the top 10.