For Immediate Release
January 6, 2012
South Easton, Mass. – All 16 Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball teams are in action this weekend, including seven games slated for Saturday afternoon. Highlighting the action is a pair of league contests featuring the four of the top teams in the conference, as No. 4 Bentley University travels to Pace University and No. 15 Assumption College hosts Southern New Hampshire University.
BENTLEY AT PACE – Saturday, Jan. 7, 1:30 p.m. – Pleasantville, N.Y.
Bentley (12-1, 8-0 NE-10) is the only remaining unbeaten team in conference play this season and came in at fourth overall in the most recent USA Today/ESPN Division II national coaches poll, which was released earlier this week. The Falcons fell to No. 4 as a result of a loss at C.W. Post on Dec. 18 but had previously held down the top spot in the country for a three-week stretch. Defensively, Bentley has held opponents to just 56.2 points per game on 28.9 percent shooting from the field. Offensively, the Falcons are second in the league in scoring at 73.2 points per contest.
Meanwhile, Pace (9-3, 6-2 NE-10) is currently tied for third in the Northeast-10 standings. The Setters lost two in a row in mid-December, although both defeats came against ranked opponents in Assumption and Dowling, and then rebounded with back-to-back wins over Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Michael's College. Pace, which was eliminated by Bentley last season in the NCAA East Regional, has committed just 15.8 turnovers per game, good for second in the Northeast-10.
THE COACHES: Currently in her 26th year at the helm of the program, Bentley head coach Barbara Stevens has a 676-150 (.818) record with the Falcons. Stevens, who has also coached at Clark and UMass in her career, became just the fifth coach in NCAA women's basketball history to reach the 800-win mark in December 2010. For the Setters, Carrie Seymour is currently in her 20th season and has more than 300 victories in her career. She has also led Pace to nine 20-win seasons and 15 NCAA Tournament appearances throughout her tenure with the university.
THE FALCONS: Among Northeast-10 category leaders, Bentley sophomore Lauren Battista is currently second in scoring (19.8 ppg), fourth in field goal percentage (.565) and ninth in rebounding (8.1 rpg) while leading her team in all three categories. Battista, who is shooting 82 percent from the line as well, has topped the 20-point mark in four straight games and poured in a career-high 29 at Dowling on Dec. 30. Reigning Northeast-10 Rookie of the Year Jacqui Brugliera is averaging 10.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while junior Courtney Finn has chipped in 10.4 points per contest.
THE SETTERS: For Pace, senior forward Brittany Shields is tied for fourth in the Northeast-10 in scoring (17.8 ppg) and sixth in rebounds (8.9 rpg) while leading the Setters in both categories. Fellow senior Kerri White is second among conference leaders in three-point field goal percentage, shooting it at a 43 percent rate while averaging 9.0 points per game.
Live Stats of the event are available here.
SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE AT ASSUMPTION – Saturday, Jan. 7, 1:30 p.m. – Worcester, Mass.
So. New Hampshire (11-3, 6-2 NE-10) has gotten off to a great start in 2011-12 after finishing four games under .500 in Northeast-10 play a year ago. The Penmen, who currently sit in a tie for third in the Northeast-10 standings, reached the 10-win mark in just 13 games, which was the quickest accomplishment of the feat for the program since the 1989-90 season. So. New Hampshire also began the year with five straight wins to give the team its best start since the 1988-89 campaign. After suffering back-to-back conference losses against nationally-ranked Bentley and Franklin Pierce, the Penmen have since won six of their last seven, including a 65-61 win over No. 25 Dowling on Dec. 30 at the Bridgeport Holiday Classic.
Assumption (10-1, 7-1 NE-10) trails only Bentley in the conference standings after suffering an 88-74 defeat to the Falcons on Tuesday night. The Greyhounds, who have been ranked as high as No. 12 in the country this season, have now dropped two of their last three after beginning the year with nine straight victories. They have boasted the top offensive attack in the Northeast-10 this season, averaging 74.9 points per game as a team while shooting 44.9 percent from the floor, including 34.4 percent from beyond the arc.
THE COACHES: For the Penmen, Karen Pinkos is in her seventh season as head coach and has led So. New Hampshire to the program's first five conference championship appearances in team history during her tenure. Assumption head coach Kerry Phayre is in her 16th year with the Greyhounds and currently owns a 260-183 (.587) record with the program. She has led the Hounds to five 20-win campaigns, including a school-record 22 victories en route to an NCAA Tournament berth last season.
THE PENMEN: Senior point guard Christine Duffy is second in the nation with 6.8 assists per game and is tied for seventh in the Northeast-10 with 2.0 steals per game. The Penmen are outscoring opponents 62.3-56.4 per contest as a result of a balanced attack, as junior Michelle DeRoma (10.4 ppg), junior Sloane Sorrell (10.1 ppg), Duffy (9.0 ppg) andsenior Meghan Smith (8.9 ppg) have all contributed on the offensive end. Sorrell leads the team with 7.4 rebounds per contest and is shooting 54 percent from the floor.
THE GREYHOUNDS: Senior Kelly Meredith leads the Northeast-10 in scoring at 20.2 points per game while shooting 56.9 percent from the field. She is also averaging 6.8 rebounds per game, second only to junior Sabrina Siciliano on the Greyhounds, who has posted game averages of 11.3 points and 7.7 rebounds this season. Junior Katy Howard, who is third in the conference in free throw percentage (.943), leads the team with 55 assists (4.6 apg) and is averaging 13.8 points a contest. Classmate Gabrielle Gibson is scoring at a 13.4 per game rate.
Live Stats of the event are available here.
AROUND THE NORTHEAST-10
For the fifth straight week, Bentley, Assumption, and Franklin Pierce University represented the Northeast-10 in the national coaches poll. Franklin Pierce (8-4, 5-3 NE-10) came in at No. 23 in the most recent editions of the rankings and will take on Le Moyne College (2-9, 0-8 NE-10) at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Ravens senior Jewel White is third in the conference in scoring (19.4 ppg) and tops in rebounding (13.1 rpg)…So. Connecticut is currently riding a league-best six-game win streak, catapulting the Owls into a tie for third place in the conference with both So. New Hampshire and Pace. They have been led by senior Sylvonya Moore, who is averaging 14.5 points per game, and will host the University of Massachusetts Lowell (4-8, 3-5 NE-10) on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.…Saint Rose (8-4, 5-3 NE-10) is currently tied with Franklin Pierce for sixth place in the conference. The Golden Knights are led by senior Ashley Rath, who is third in the Northeast-10 in scoring at a 17.8 per game clip. She is also third in the conference with 32 three-pointers made...Click here to view the full Northeast-10 Standings.
The Northeast-10 is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 5,500 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in Conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
-NE-10-
