No. 1 Bentley 69, No. 5 Saint Michael's 55
Box Score
Julia Elie and Brennan Doran both achieved new career highs in scoring to lead the No. 9 Bentley women's basketball team to a 69-55 win over Saint Michael's in the Northeast 10 Championship semifinal, presented by Visit Central Florida, Thursday night.
The top-seeded Falcons will host #2 seed Southern Connecticut for the NE10 title Sunday, March 8, at 1 p.m.
Elie and Doran put up nearly identical numbers against the #5 seed Purple Knights. They each scored 19 points while pulling down four rebounds. Each Falcon also missed only two shots. Elie shot 8-for-10 from the floor, and Doran shot 6-for-8.
Those two weren't the only Falcons to put up career-best numbers in Bentley's postseason opener. Cassidy Yeomans swiped a career-high six steals, and she dished out six assists.
Freshman Cherish Bryant was a huge spark off the bench, matching her season high in scoring with 14 points.
Bentley (22-3) asserted themselves emphatically in the game's opening quarter. The Falcons claimed a double-digit lead, 25-14, less than nine minutes into the game. Bentley missed only one shot (10-for-11) in the first quarter, and the Falcons carried a 42-31 lead into halftime.
The Falcons' lead remained in double digits for all but one minute in the second half. Overall, Bentley shot 50.0-percent from the floor, while holding the Purple Knights (15-13) to 41.2-percent.
Bentley is in the NE10 title game for the fifth consecutive season. The Falcons have reached the conference title game in nine of the last 10 seasons.
-recap provided by Bentley athletic communications-
No. 2 SCSU 69, No. 6 SNHU
Box Score
Southern Connecticut women's basketball defeated Southern New Hampshire, 71-54, to advance to the Northeast 10 Championship final, presented by Visit Central Florida, at tournament top-seed Bentley on Sunday, March 8. This will be Southern's fifth appearance in the NE10 final, all-time. With the win, the Owls improved to 23-5 overall.
Hope Fox turned in an all-time performance in what would likely be her final game at James Moore Field House. The fourth-year All-NE10 pick finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five steals and three blocks. NE10 Rookie of the Year Tish Blackwood had 16 points and eight rebounds despite playing just 26 minutes due to foul trouble and Ally Sentance came off the bench to scorch SNHU for 18 points after knocking down a game-high four three-pointers.
Southern needed some time to heat up as they connected on just one of their first nine shots over the game's first five minutes. Southern New Hampshire knocked down 5-of-6 from three-point range on its way to a 15-2 lead. Southern bounced back with an 8-2 run over the first quarter's last four minutes to make it 17-10 heading into the second.
The Owls opened the second quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from Hope Fox as they extended their run to 14-2. Trailing by a point, 17-16 with 6:44 to go in the half, Southern fell behind again as the Penmen took a 24-16 lead. The Owls turned it on over the last five minutes of the half with a 15-4 run – that saw eight points from Ally Sentance - to take a 31-28 lead into halftime.
Southern outscored Penmen, 21-11, in the second quarter with Fox and Sentance both scoring eight points each. Southern also converted on 8-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-6 from long range. Fox totaled 12 points in the first half overall.
Coming out of the break, the Owls kept their foot on the gas and outscored the Penmen, 22-12, in the third. Fox and Tish Blackwood both scored six points each and Maya Henry converted on four free throws. Down the stretch, it was Sentance leading the Owls with seven points in the fourth quarter as the Owls held on for the 17-point win.
Southern improved to 3-0 against SNHU in the NE10 tournament, all-time, and advanced to the NE10 Title game for the second time in three seasons. The Owls will face Bentley in the NE10 Championship Game, presented by Visit Central Florida, for the second time in three seasons. Sunday's NE10 title will be available to view live on SNY at 1 p.m. from Waltham, Mass.
-recap provided by SCSU athletic communications-
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. 1 Bentley 69, No. 5 Saint Michael's 55
Game #5: No. 2 SCSU 71, No. 6 SNHU 54
Championship – Sunday, March 8th:
Game 6: No. 2 SCSU at No. 1 Bentley - 1:00 PM
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 10 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
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