FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2014
Battista leads Bentley, Jackson leads
Adelphi to Northeast-10 Championship game
No. 1 nationally ranked Bentley University is set to host Adelphi University on Sunday afternoon (1:00 p.m.) in the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference Women's Basketball Championship game after both programs earned semifinal victories at home Thursday night.
Bentley, the top seed from the Northeast-10 Northeast Division, earned a 75-59 victory Thursday night over third-seeded Assumption College behind a game-high 23 points and six rebounds from Northeast-10 Player of the Year Lauren Battista in Waltham.
Elsewhere down on Long Island, Adelphi, the Southwest Division's top seed, got 36 points and eight assists from point guard Sade Jackson to help defeat second-seeded Stonehill College, 93-77, in Garden City, N.Y.
Bentley improved its unblemished record to 28-0 with Thursday night's win, as the Falcons will be seeking their fourth straight Northeast-10 Championship Sunday afternoon at the Dana Center.
Adelphi (pictured), which ranked No. 3 in the final edition of the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball East Region rankings, improved to 22-6 with Thursday evening's win.
Bentley took the two teams' only head-to-head matchup this season, 77-66, back on January 15 in Waltham. As a result, the unbeaten Falcons will host Sunday's championship game.
Stonehill (18-9) and Assumption (18-10), ranked fourth and fifth in the East Region rankings, will now await possible at-large NCAA Tournament bids.
#1 SW ADELPHI 93, #2 NE STONEHILL 77
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Jackson tied the single-game school record Thursday night with a 36-point performance, shooting 13-of-15 from the floor, including a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe. She added six rebounds and eight assists.
Freshman Calli Balfour added 18 points and nine boards for the Panthers, while Jessica Kitrys chipped in 11 points and Jenna Halaby contributed 10. For Stonehill, Mary Louise Dixonand Tori Faieta recorded double-doubles, as Dixon totaled 23 points with 11 boards and Faieta had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Courtesy of Bentley Athletics Communications
WALTHAM, Mass. – Battista made 7-of-11 shots for her 21 points and classmate Caleigh Crowell followed with 14 as Bentley advanced to the Northeast-10 Championship game for the fourth straight year and 25th time overall with a 75-59 win Thursday night.
Battista, who is now 18 points away from 2,000 for her sparkling career, also filled the stat sheet with six rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Crowell made five of her nine shots and also provided four rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals.
Bentley grad student Courtney Finn was the other Falcon to score in double figures as she finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Senior point guard Christiana Bakolas only scored five points, but grabbed seven rebounds, dished six assists and came up with four steals.
For Assumption, senior Shannon Ray had a team-high 12 points, while freshman Allison Stoddard added 10 off the bench. However, no Greyhound individually had more than three rebounds or three assists in the loss.
It was an impressive defensive effort from the Falcons, who had 12 steals, five blocks and three drawn charges. About half of Assumption's points came in the final minutes of each half after Bentley had established a significant lead. The Greyhounds scored 13 in the final 3:30 of the first half, matching their total in the first 16:30, to draw within seven at the break, 33-26. And the Hounds scored 18 in the last 5:40 of the game after the Falcon advantage peaked at 27, 68-41. Bentley also began the game with a 20-4 run.
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 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 6,000 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 in terms of sport sponsorship. 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.
Friday, February 28 - First Round | RECAP
Game 1: #4 NE Franklin Pierce 74, #5 SW Southern Connecticut 66 | BOX
Game 2: #4 SW Le Moyne 58, #5 NE Saint Anselm 53 | BOX
Sunday, March 2 - Quarterfinals | RECAP
Game 3: #1 SW Adelphi 81, #4 NE Franklin Pierce 77 | BOX
Game 4: #1 NE Bentley 77, #4 SW Le Moyne 51 | BOX
Game 5: #3 NE Assumption 61, #2 SW New Haven 58 | BOX
Game 6: #2 NE Stonehill 75, #3 SW American International 60 | BOX
Thursday, March 6 - Semifinals
Game 7: #1 SW Adelphi 93, #2 NE Stonehill 77 | BOX
Game 8: #1 NE Bentley 75, #3 NE Assumption 59 | BOX
Sunday, March 9 - Final
Game 9: #1 SW Adelphi at #1 NE Bentley* - 1:00 p.m.
* - if same seed, site determined by winner of regular-season matchup
– #NE10 –
