Women's Basketball

Two of Three Road Teams Find Success in Women's Basketball First Round

SMC, SNHU and SCSU Advance to Semifinals

No. 2 Southern Connecticut 76, No. 7 Adelphi 39
Box Score

Southern Connecticut women's basketball defeated Adelphi, 76-39, in a Northeast 10 Conference Women's Basketball Championship, presented by Visit Central Florida First Round matchup at James Moore Field House. With the win, the Owls improved to 22-5 and advanced to the NE10 Semifinals on Thursday, March 5 at James Moore Field House.

Taeya Steinauer led the Owls with 22 points after knocking down a team-leading four three-pointers in the game. Tish Blackwood had 12 points and eight rebounds with a pair of steals and Rheyna Steinauer totaled 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. The Owls backcourt filled out the stat sheet as Hope Fox finished with nine points, eight assists, five steals and six rebounds. Jillian Martin had five points, five rebounds and seven assists while Allie Sentance came off the bench to hit all three of her three-point attempts for nine points.

Southern dominated play from the start as the Owls opened with a 20-2 run where they shot 8-of-8 from the field including 4-of-4 from three-point range. For the quarter, Southern converted on 9-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-7 from long range on its way to take a 24-11 lead. The second quarter featured the Owls outscoring the Panthers, 19-8, to take a 43-19 lead into halftime.Taeya Steinauer led Southern with 17 rebounds at the break. The Owls hit on 6-of-13 from the floor and all four three-point attempts.

Coming out of the half, Southern outscored Adelphi, 14-11, for the quarter as its shooting dropped off. The Owls managed to spread the scoring around to six different players and outrebounded the Panthers, 11-5, to hold onto the lead. Southern opened the fourth quarter with a 12-4 run to take its largest lead of the game, 69-34, with four minutes to play before holding on for the win. Southern outscored the Panthers, 33-20, in the second half. 

For the game, Southern outrebounded the Panthers, 37-24, and dished out 20 assists on 24 field goals for the game. The Owls also saw 18 points off the bench and scored 20 points off of Adelphi's 19 turnover in the game. The Owls finished the game shooting 24-for-46 (52.2%) from the floor and 11-for-19 (57.9%) from three-point range. 

No. 6 Southern New Hampshire 60, No. 3 Assumption 54
Box Score

Senior forward Meghan Gordon (Attleboro, Mass.) tallied a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the sixth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University women's basketball team to a 60-54 upset of third-seeded Assumption University in the first round of the Northeast 10 Women's Basketball Championship, presented by Visit Central Florida on Sunday afternoon at Andrew Laska Gym. With the victory, the No. 6 seed Penmen advance to Thursday's semifinal at No. 2 seed Southern Connecticut State University.

KEY MOMENTS
  • After Assumption built a 10-point lead (35-25) midway through the second quarter, SNHU responded in the third. The Penmen outscored the Greyhounds 17-9 in the period, highlighted by a game-tying 3-pointer from junior Ava Winterburn (New Boston, N.H.) and a go-ahead fast-break layup by sophomore guard Kameron St. Pierre (Swansea, Mass.) that helped SNHU take a 47-46 edge into the fourth.
  • The Penmen locked in defensively in the final stanza, limiting Assumption to just eight fourth-quarter points to secure the six-point victory.
NOTES
  • Gordon shot 6-for-13 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range.  The double-double was her sixth of the season, and third in the past four games.
  • Winterburn finished with 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and went 5-for-5 at the free-throw line.
  • St. Pierre added 13 points, six rebounds and a team-high four steals off the bench.
  • Sophomore guard Taylor Brennan (Southbury, Conn.) scored four points, while sophomore guard Samantha Pfeil (Methuen, Mass.) and freshman guard Madelynn Deprey (Caribou, Maine) added four points apiece. Graduate student forward Sydnie DeVries (Monson, Mass.) pulled down a pair of rebounds and had an assist.
  • SNHU shot 36.5 percent (19-52) from the field and 33.3 percent (7-21) from 3-point range, while converting 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) at the free-throw line.
  • The Penmen held a 38-36 rebounding edge.
  • SNHU forced 15 Assumption turnovers and turned them into 23 points. The Greyhounds scored 11 points off SNHU's 23 turnovers.
  • Assumption leads SNHU all-time 39-25 - the Penmen have won four of the last five. SNHU is 2-1 vs. Assumption in the Northeast 10 Championship.

No. 5 Saint Michael's 73, No. 4 American Int'l 61
Box Score

Junior Ashlee Talbot (Dracut, Mass./Dracut) scored 13 of her 17 points in the first half, and the fifth-seeded Saint Michael's College women's basketball team never trailed during a 73-61 victory at No. 4 American International College during a Northeast 10 Conference Championship presented by Visit Central Florida first-round contest on Sunday in Butova Gymnasium. The Purple Knights were 10th in this week's NCAA East Region rankings, while the Yellow Jackets were sixth.
 
Saint Michael's advances to play top-seeded Bentley University, which was ranked 12th in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) national poll, during Thursday's semifinal round. The Falcons received a first-round bye. The Purple and Gold returns to the NE10 Championship semifinals for the first time since 1992.
 
RECORDS
  • Saint Michael's (15-12), AIC (16-11)
SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS
  • Talbot, 17 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 7-for-10 field goals
  • Junior Jayla Tyler (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central/Saint Rose), 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 6-for-11 field goals, 4-for-4 free throws
  • Junior Ruby Santos (New Paltz, N.Y./Kent School), 11 points, 4 rebounds (3 offensive), 4-for-6 field goals
  • Sophomore Margaret Montplaisir (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth), 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
  • Junior Amber Furch (Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood School), 9 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4-for-4 free throws
  • Junior Bella Franchi (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie), 8 rebounds, 3 assists
OPPONENT LEADERS
  • Graduate student Chelsea Reeves, 20 points, 4 assists, 10-for-12 free throws
  • Sophomore Keyvanna Bennett, 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
GAME FACTS
  • The Purple Knights led for all but 28 seconds and never trailed.
  • Saint Michael's held a 39-25 rebounding lead while shooting 21-of-23 on free throws and holding AIC to a 4-of-17 three-point performance.
  • AIC lost at home for only the fourth time in 12 games this season.
  • The Purple and Gold earned its first true postseason road win in program history while winning away from home for the first time since the 1990 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament semifinals, a 62-59 victory against Mercyhurst University on the University of Massachusetts at Lowell's home court.
  • Saint Michael's captured its initial postseason win since the opening round of the 2011 NE10 Championship, a 74-59 triumph against UMass Lowell at the Ross Sports Center.
  • Saint Michael's improved to 2-1 all-time in the postseason against AIC while also moving to 2-1 in the teams' 2025-26 series, with the road team winning for the first time on Sunday.
  • The Purple Knights will return to the NE10 Championship semifinals for the first time since 1992, when they advanced to that round for the second time in three seasons.
THE ACTION
  • Talbot buried a three-pointer 28 seconds into the game for the contest's opening points to give Saint Michael's the lead for good, and her jumper at 8:00 of the first quarter had her team up 10-2. By the time she knocked down another jumper with 5:35 gone, the visitors were ahead 14-4.
  • Three players scored during AIC's 7-0 response, but Furch's driving lay-up capped a 6-0 counter that put the Purple Knights up 20-11. Santos drained a three 15 seconds into the second quarter to create a 25-13 margin.
  • Down 11, AIC finished the opening half on a 16-7 run, rallying within 38-36 on Reeves' pair of free throws with 31 seconds to go. The hosts cut their deficit to a single point three times during the third quarter but never tied or took the lead.
  • Tyler opened the fourth quarter by hitting a three before Montplaisir's lay-in made it 57-51 at 8:31.
  • Bennett split two free throws at 1:20 to keep her team within 65-61, but Furch made two freebies just seconds later before coming up with a steal on the next possession and feeding Santos for a lay-in at 34 seconds. The Purple Knights led by eight amid a game-clinching 8-0 run.
  • Saint Michael's held AIC without a field goal for the final 7:02, as the Yellow Jackets missed their final nine shots.
 

First Round: Sunday, March 1st
Game #1: No. 2 SCSU 76, No. 7 Adelphi 39
Game #2: No. 6 SNHU 60, No. 3 Assumption 54
Game #3: No. 5 Saint Michael's 73, No. 4 AIC 61

Semifinals: Thursday, March 5th
Game #4: No. 5 Saint Michael's at No. 1 Bentley - 6:00 PM
Game #5: No. 6 SNHU at No. 2 SCSU - 5:30 PM

Championship – Sunday, March 8th:
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner (at highest remaining seed)

*Game times shall be subject to the availability of ice facilities. The preferred start time of the championship game is 1:00 P.M.
 
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