Bentley Set to Face SCSU in NE10 Championship Final
No. 6 Southern Connecituct State 60, No. 2 Assumption 47
Box Score
WORCESTER, MA – Southern Connecticut women's basketball defeated Assumption University, 60-47 in the Northeast-10 Semifinals on Thursday night. With the win, Southern Connecticut will travel to Waltham, MA to face Bentley University for the 2024 NE10 Championship on Sunday, March 10. This is the first time since 2012, that the Owls will be back in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship.
Makenzie Helms led the team with a game-high of 26 points, which matched her career-best. Helms shot 9-for-15 from the floor, recorded a team-best of five assists, grabbed two rebounds and was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line against the Greyhounds.
Hope Fox had a career-high of 15 points, as she was 100% from beyond the arc, 4-for-6 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. Helms and Fox combined for 41 points, out of the team's 60 points.
Katie Williamson had seven points, recorded a team-best of six rebounds, a team-best of three blocks and led the team with three steals. Julianna Bonilla had six points, which included two made three-pointers, a team-best of six rebounds and three assists against Assumption.
In the first quarter, from the jump ball, it was a true defensive battle between the Owls and Greyhounds. Assumption started scoring quickly but Southern answered back. Defense held strong for both teams, as with 28 seconds left, Makenzie Helms made a three-pointer to close the quarter at an even 7-7 score line.
In the second quarter, Helms made a jumper in the paint for the Owls, to give them their first lead. The defensive battle continued as both teams had to fight to make their possessions count. The lead would change between the teams, only with a one-to-two-point advantage. However, with four minutes left, Hope Fox went on a scoring run for the Owls. Fox scored 12 points in the second quarter alone, from the three-point line to the paint and to the free-throw line. This helped Southern Connecticut immensely as they headed into halftime with a four-point lead.
In the third quarter, Katie Williamson opened the half for the Owls with a made jumper and a made free-throw. Southern extended their lead throughout the quarter, but Assumption wasn't going away. The Greyhounds got within a point of the Owls' lead, as defense continued to be an important factor for both teams. Heading into the fourth, Southern led Assumption, 37-36.
In the fourth quarter, the Owls worked hard to defend and make shots against the Greyhounds. This paid off as they took a six-point lead with four minutes left on the clock. Assumption were working to make a comeback but Southern Connecticut made sure to hold strong with their lead. Southern went on a 14-2 run to finish out the game in the last quarter.
It was a 13-point fourth quarter for Makenzie Helms, as she made three-pointers and free-throws to give Southern the momentum to win the game. Bonilla, Williamson, Steinauer hit key baskets that helped the Owls have the advantage. With 17 seconds left, Hope Fox went to the line to make two free-throws, which gave the Owls their 13-point lead. Time ran out, as Southern Connecticut won 60-47 over Assumption, to make it back to the NE10 Championship game on Sunday, March 10 at Bentley.
- Recap Courtesy SCSU Athletics -
No. 1 Bentley 66, No. 5 Franklin Pierce 57
Box Score
WALTHAM, Mass. – The first-team All-Conference duo of Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) and Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) combined for 24 points, with Whitmore scoring her 1,000th career, and the Falcon bench provided 22 points as Bentley University moved on in the Northeast-10 Championships with a 66-57 semifinal win over Franklin Pierce University Thursday evening on Barbara Stevens Court.
The top-seeded Falcons, 25-5 overall and ranked 21st in the latest WBCA Division II coaches poll, will look to make it a three-peat as conference champions Sunday afternoon when they host Southern Connecticut State at 1:30 pm.
Bentley, which trailed for virtually the entire first 25 minutes, closed out the third quarter with a 9-2 run that produced a 46-44 Falcon lead.
The surge began with an unassisted three-ball from the right wing by Thompson and was followed by an inside basket by sophomore post Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) that evened the game at 42-all, the first time since 2-2.
After a Raven basket, Bentley finished the stanza with a three from the left side by Whitmore and a free throw from freshman guard Niya Morgen (Swampscott/St. Mary's HS), the NE10 Rookie of the Year.
The momentum carried into the fourth with the Falcons scoring 11 of the first 13 points to make it a 20-4 run over a span of seven-and-a-half minutes. The first three minutes of the final quarter saw junior guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) drop in a three from the left corner, Whitmore connect on a triple from the left wing and Kabantu hit a three ball from the top of the key.
Six straight points from FPU senior center Colette Mulderig (Scranton, Pa.) brought the Ravens, who had won nine straight, to within four, 59-55, with 1:24 to play. Thompson answered with a straight-away three that bounced up and in, and Bentley secured the victory by making four of six free throws in the final 43.5 seconds.
In the second half, Bentley shot 54.5 percent overall and sank six of nine three-pointers. That was in sharp contrast to the first half when coach C White's squad was only one of seven from outside the arc.
Meanwhile, Franklin Pierce (20-10) went from .480 shooting in the first half to less than 35 percent after intermission. And in the second half, the Ravens missed all eight of their three-point attempts.
Thompson paced the Falcons with 15 points, including 13 in the second half, and also had three rebounds, two assists and a block. Whitmore finished with nine points in the game and pushed her career total of 1,007. Her 1000th came on a free throw with 3:03 left in the second after Mulderig was assessed a technical.
All nine Falcons to see the floor scored and rebounded with Norman scoring 10 off the bench, junior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) nine, Kabantu seven and sophomore post Julia Elie (Rockland/Rockland HS) six to keep the home team close in the first half.
Senior guard Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) and sophomore guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy) were the playmakers for Bentley, with five and four assists, respectively. DuCharme and Whitmore were the team's top rebounders with five apiece.
Mulderig, despite foul trouble, led Franklin Pierce with 18 points, including 10 in the first half, and sophomore guard Kenzie Sirowich (Seymour, Conn.) followed with 14, ten of those coming in the opening quarter.
Bentley finished with the advantage in shooting (46-41 percent), rebounds (30-27) and three-pointers (7-2), and limited FPU's top scorer for the season, All-Conference senior guard Anna Badosa Soler (Girona, Spain), to six points on two-of-nine shooting.
- Recap Courtesy Bentley Athletics -
NE10 Women's Basketball Championship
First Round – Friday, March 1st:
Game 1: #5 Franklin Pierce 65, #12 Saint Michael's 63
Game 2: #6 Southern Connecticut 60, #11 New Haven 44
Game 3: #7 Pace 55, #10 Adelphi 46
Game 4: #8 American International 64, #9 Saint Anselm 56
Quarterfinals – Sunday, March 3rd:
Game 5: #8 American International 61, #1 Bentley 73
Game 6: #7 Pace 54, #2 Assumption 55
Game 7: #6 Southern Connecticut 58, #3 Saint Rose 53
Game 8: #5 Franklin Pierce 78, Southern New Hampshire 67
Semifinals – Thursday, March 7th (at highest remaining seeds):
Game 9: No. 1 Bentley 66, No. 5 Franklin Pierce 57
Game 10: No. 2 Assumption 47, No. 6 Southern Connecticut State 60
Championship – Sunday, March 10th (at highest remaining seed):
Game 11: Southern Connecticut State at Bentley - 1:30 P.M.
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 12 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.
