Semifinal #1
#4 Long Island 67, #1 Quinnipiac 63
Long Island overcame 37 points from an unconscious Erin Kerner (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep) to reach its first Northeast Conference Women’s Basketball Championship game since 2002, downing top-seeded Quinnipiac, 67-63, in the first of two semifinal contests on Sunday at the Wellness, Recreation, and Athletic Center.
Kerner enjoyed one of the top single-game performances in the 22-year history of the NEC Championships. Finishing 14-of-26 from the field, the all-NEC first team guard knocked down the third-most field goals the tournament has ever seen on her way to the fourth-highest single-game point total.
Still, the resolute Blackbirds prevailed.
“I thought we all stepped up as a team,” commented head coach Stephanie V. Gaitley. “These guys all brought something to the table so that we could accomplish what we did today.”
Four Blackbirds scored in double figures led by all-NEC first team selection Valerie Nainima (Suva, Fiji/St. Joseph’s Secondary).
It was Quinnipiac’s all-NEC first team representative who almost single-handedly carried the Bobcats to what would have been their second title game appearance in three years.
With Quinnipiac trailing 64-58 in the game’s final minute, Kerner sunk her final of five three-pointers with 47.6 seconds left to slice the lead in half. Nainima, who finished 10-of-14 from the line, hit three free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.
The two sides started slowly, feeling each other out like opponents in a heavyweight boxing title match. The NEC’s top-ranked scoring defense held Quinnipiac scoreless for the first 4:51 of the contest, but the Blackbirds managed only four points of their own during that span.
Kerner came up with the Bobcats’ first points by draining a three-ball from the top of the key. The junior guard accounted for 18 of Quinnipiac’s 25 first-half points. Despite the explosion, LIU still took a three-point lead into the break thanks to Chelsi Johnson’s (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Holy Spirit) buzzer-beating three-point heave from 24 feet out.
Johnson, who finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds, continued to pester Quinnipiac in the opening minutes of second half. Her back-to-back buckets extended the lead to 35-27 with 16:43 to go.
The Blackbirds pushed the lead to nine, the largest of the day, when senior center Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia) scored two of her 13 points with 14:25 remaining in the contest.
Kerner was unable to attempt a shot in the first 8:04 of the second frame, but rattled off 19 more points before the final buzzer.
“I’m disappointed,” said Kerner of the narrow defeat. “I thought this was our year to make the championship, but our season is not over. We still have the WNIT so we just have to put this behind us.”
The Bobcats receive an automatic berth into the post-season WNIT by virtue of their regular season championship and No. 1 seed.
The fourth-seeded Blackbirds are the lowest seed to advance to the NEC title game since No. 7 UMBC contested the 2003 final against Saint Francis (PA).
Semifinal #2
#2 Robert Morris 67, #6 Monmouth 52
The defending Northeast Conference women’s basketball champion Robert Morris Colonials are headed back to the league’s title game thanks to a record performance from NEC Player of the Year Sade Logan (Knoxville, TN/Chattanooga State). The junior guard broke one tournament mark and tied another in the No. 2 Colonials 67-52 victory over sixth-seeded Monmouth.
Logan, who transferred in from Chattanooga State, was not part of last season’s championship team, but will get her chance thanks to a 38-point effort that ties the third-highest single-game output in the 22 years of the NEC Tournament. The nation’s second-leading scorer tied a tournament record for field goals made with a 15-of-30 shooting performance while nailing a all-time single-game high with seven three-pointers.
Contesting their second consecutive semifinal following their upset victory of third-seeded Sacred Heart on Saturday, the Hawks struggled from the field.
"I thought we played hard," commented Monmouth head coach Michele Baxter. "We just didn’t knock down shots."
Monmouth managed to connect on only 37.5 percent (21-56) of its field goal attempts, including a 33.3 percent clip during the second half. Junior guard Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) had the most successful night from the field, finishing 6-of-13 for a team-high 13 points.
Following a 20-point, nine-rebound effort in the victory over SHU, Bender was limited to seven field-goal attempts and two free throws. The second all-NEC forward totaled seven points and six rebounds.
"We just needed to play hard, play defense, and stop Bender," said Logan following her second 38-point game this season.
Although they never led, Monmouth didn’t go away until the game’s closing minutes.
The Hawks held the NEC’s highest-scoring team 6.8 points below their 73.8 points per game scoring average.
Junior Rachel Ferdinand’s (Califon, NJ/Voorhees) jumper at the 5:41 mark of the second half pulled the Hawks pulled within 56-50, but it did not cool down Logan. The conference’s Player of the Year answered with a driving lay-up and a three-ball from the left corner to push the lead up to eleven at 61-50.