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South Easton, Mass. – Three of the top four seeds in the Northeast-10 Women’s Basketball Championship field will be moving on to the semifinal round on Friday, March 6.

The semifinals will feature #7 The College of Saint Rose traveling to Waltham, Mass. to take on #3 Bentley University, while #4 American International College will be heading to Rindge, N.H. to face #1 Franklin Pierce University. Both contests are slated for a 7 p.m. start.

Franklin Pierce, the NE-10 regular season champions, defeated #9 Southern New Hampshire University 81-59 on Tuesday. Winners of 16-of-17, the red hot Ravens are powered by NE-10 Player of the Year, Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) who is averaging 23 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Teammate and sister Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) helps pace their attack with 12.2 points and five assists per game. Both combined for 35 points in the win over Southern New Hampshire.

Fourth seeded American International cruised to a 60-41win over fifth seeded Pace University Tuesday night in quarterfinal action at the Butova Gymnasium. Sophomore guard Laechia Conley (Urbandale, Iowa) scored a game high 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Yellow Jackets. Senior forward Stacy Boisvert (Agawam, Mass.) contributed with 15 points and five rebounds. Boisvert is averaging 16.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while Conley is chipping in with 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest. American International earned their 20th victory of the season, marking the tenth 20-win season in the program’s rich history.

American International and Franklin Pierce split in their regular season meetings with both teams holding home court respectively. American International beat Franklin Pierce 66-58 at home behind 20 points from Stacy Boisvert. Franklin Pierce responded recently with their own home win by the score of 65-51with Johannah Leedham tallying 24 points and 10 rebounds. Franklin Pierce and American International are ranked #1 and #4 respectively in the recent East Regional rankings.

After knocking off tenth seeded Saint Michael’s College at home in the first-round of the championship, Saint Rose went out and faced second-seeded Stonehill College. Saint Rose defeated Stonehill 67-59 and advanced to the NE-10 semifinals where they will take on #3 Bentley. The Golden Knights have advanced to their third championship semifinal within the past four years. The Golden Knights reached the 20-win total and have won 11 of their last 13 games.

In Tuesday night’s triumph over Stonehill, junior guard Elizabeth Buckley (East Lyme, Conn.) led four Saint Rose players in double figures scoring with 18 points behind 5-for-7 shooting from behind the arc. Senior guard Dana Brown (Elmont, N.Y.) had 17 points, while senior Ashley Anderson contributed with 15. Sophomore Amy Voelkel (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Bentley is coming off a 69-54 win over the University of New Haven in the quarterfinals. Sophomore guard Kim Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y.) scored 17 points and teammates Kristy McLean (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Colette Josey (Boston, Mass.) each recorded double-doubles as Bentley pulled away late for a 69-54 victory. Bentley has now earned a semifinals birth in the NE-10 championship 26 times, which is the most in conference history. This is also the 25th time in the last 26 seasons that the Falcons have reached the 20-win mark.

Bentley and Saint Rose split their regular season matchups with the road team winning each time. The Falcons won 66-58 in Albany while the Golden Knights won 80-76 in Waltham.

For more information on the Northeast-10 Championship be sure to visit the Northeast-10 website at www.northeast10.org for continuous updates.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

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