Host Bentley, Adelphi, Stonehill Earn Wins at NCAA Women's Basketball East Region Quarterfinals

Posted: Mar 14, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 14, 2014

Adelphi knocks off conference foe New Haven in
overtime, host Bentley and Stonehill also earn quarterfinal wins

WALTHAM, Mass. – Quarterfinal action of the 2014 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball East Regional took place Friday afternoon at the Dana Center on the campus of tournament host and No. 1 seed Bentley University.

Sixth-seeded Assumption College fell in heartbreaking fashion, 60-59, on a buzzer beater to third-seeded LIU Post in the first of four quarterfinal contests that took place Friday.

In the second, second-seeded Adelphi University held off Northeast-10 Conference foe and seventh-seeded University of New Haven, 92-86, in overtime. Adelphi will now take on LIU Post Saturday in the semifinals (5:00 p.m.).

Host and top seed Bentley took down eighth-seeded Bloomfield, 80-65, in the third contest on Friday, before fourth-seeded Stonehill College defeated fifth-seeded District of Columbia, 79-61. The No. 1 nationally ranked Falcons will now take on Stonehill Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the regional semifinals.

Video webcasts of all regional contests at Bentley can be viewed at no cost at packnetwork.com. Also be sure to follow the Northeast-10 on Twitter (@TheNortheast10) for live updates and other regional information.

#6 LIU POST 60, #3 ASSUMPTION 59
Assumption owned a 59-58 lead and had possession with 1.1 seconds remaining, but an errant inbounds pass was picked up by LIU Post senior Alexis Peters, who then connected on a floater at the buzzer for the one-point win. Officials reviewed the play at the monitor before confirming the shot was indeed good. Click here to view video of the game-winning shot.

Four Greyhounds finished in double figures, as Shannon Ray and Tafanie Roye had 11 points apiece and Jamie Insel and Caitlin Ackerman both finished with 10. Insel also pulled down 10 rebounds, while Kelly Conley added five assists.

Peters finished with 21 for the Pioneers to complement Chelsea Williams, who finished with a game-high 23 points. Peters and Williams also both finished with eight rebounds apiece.

Assumption, which owned a 29-27 edge at the break, increased its lead to 13 at 49-36 with 13 minutes to play in the second half. But LIU Post went on a 20-6 run over the next 10 minutes to retake the lead at 56-55, which was followed by four more lead changes throughout the final three minutes, including Peters' game-winner.

#2 ADELPHI 92, #7 NEW HAVEN 86 – OT
Jessica Kitrys had a game-high tying 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting in Friday's overtime victory for the Panthers, while freshman Calli Balfour shot 9-of-15 en route to 25 points and 13 rebounds in the victory. Sade Jackson added 14 points, nine assists and seven boards, while Kelly Mannix came through with a 15-point, seven-rebound effort.

In the loss, Briana Bradford paced the Chargers with a career-high 28 points and Aquillin Hayes came through with 23 points and seven rebounds. Bria Moore added 16 points and eight boards for New Haven.

Adelphi owned a narrow 37-35 lead at halftime, but found itself down by five with under six minutes to play in regulation. Then tied at 73-73 with 1:34 left, Hayes gave the Chargers the lead on a jumper just before the one-minute mark, only for Kitrys to again tie it up down the other end on a layup with 47 seconds left. Jackson (pictured) held it during the final possession of the second half, but her jumper rimmed out at the horn.

But it was all Panthers in the overtime, outscoring New Haven 17-11 during the extra five minutes. Adelphi got up by as many as nine with 47 seconds left in the overtime before a barrage of free throws.

#1 BENTLEY 80, #8 BLOOMFIELD 65
Courtney Finn had a game-high 23 points, aided by a 14-of-16 showing at the free throw line, to help lead the Falcons past Bloomfield on Friday. She was one of five Bentley players in double figures, joining Caleigh Crowell (16 points), Jacqui Brugliera (12), Jen Gemma (12) and Lauren Battista (11). Brugliera added a team-high seven boards, while Christiana Bakolas had four points and 10 assists.

The Falcons, who shot an uncharacteristic 35 percent in the first half on Friday, led by as many as nine with less than 12 minutes remaining before halftime, but Bloomfield stormed back to tie it up at 36-36 with 1:21 to go before the break.

The eighth-seeded Deacons hung around for most of the second half as well, taking a 58-57 lead over the nation's No. 1 ranked team with 10:39 to play in regulation. But Bentley ended the game on a 23-7 run to put it away, improving to 30-0 in the process.

Bloomfield got 18 points from Tianna Smith, while Tierra Scott added 11 points and eight rebounds.

#4 STONEHILL 79, #5 DIST. COLUMBIA 61
Stonehill was down one at the break but used a 16-2 run midway through the second half to take down Dist. Columbia in its quarterfinal victory on Friday night.

Mary Louise Dixon led the way with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the win, while Tori Faieta registered a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double. Shannon Brown had a team-high 18 points in just 21 minutes off the bench and Paige Marshall added 14 points and nine boards.

Stonehill, which limited UDC to 32 percent shooting overall, hit 7-of-17 three-point attempts in the second half after connecting on just 3-of-12 before the half.

Telisha Turner shot 8-of-22 en route to a game-high 27 points for UDC. Denikka Brent came through with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

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.

Saturday, March 15 - Semifinals
Game 5: #3 LIU Post vs. #2 Adelphi - 5:00 p.m.
Game 6: #4 Stonehill vs. #1 Bentley - 7:30 p.m.

Monday, March 17 - Regional Final
Game 7: 7:00 p.m.

– #NE10 –