Semifinals
#5 Saint Francis (PA) 80, #1 Robert Morris 79
Loretto, PA --
Surprisingly, it wasn't snowing in Loretto. It was raining three's instead. Saint Francis (PA) senior Britney Hodges (Dayton, OH/Mount de Chantal) hit the team's 14th three-pointer of the game with 10.7 seconds remaining to lift the No. 5 Red Flash over top-seeded Robert Morris, 80-79, in the semifinal round of the 2010 Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.
Hodges' game-winning shot from beyond the left arc capped a record shooting day for Saint Francis (PA) whose 14 makes from downtown were the most in NEC Tournament single-game history.
Junior Allison Daly (Harrisburg, PA/Trinity) was at the center of the three-point barrage, sinking a NEC postseason single-game record eight triples. The 5-foot-11 guard took all 17 of her field goal attempts from long distance on her way to a team-high 24 points.
"It all comes down to passing and finding the open player," said Daly who was quick to credit teammate Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, MD/Severna Park). "Lilley had 10 assists today, and that was amazing, especially with just being an off-guard, combo guard."
Lilley was the first player to tally 10 assists in a NEC Tournament game since Robert Morris' Chinata Nesbit did so in the 2008 quarterfinal round.
Hodges, who scored 24 points in yesterday's quarterfinal win over Monmouth, accounted for 19 points, six assists, five rebounds, and a season-saving moment.
"Brittany Lilley kind of screened two people and got me open, and I just had to have confidence and shoot a three," said the All-NEC First Team guard. "It's what I do, shoot threes."
The Red Flash led by as many as 18 points early in the second half before Robert Morris stormed back on the strength of NEC Player of the Year Angela Pace (White Plains, NY/Monroe College). The 5-foot-10 guard willed her team back into the game by scoring 23 of her game-high 30 points after Saint Francis had taken its largest lead.
"I knew we were down and we were going to have to catch up as much as we could," said Pace. "It was a dogfight from the beginning. All I know is that I played hard and my team played hard for 40 minutes."
Chipping away, Robert Morris trimmed its deficit to 11 points, 66-55, on a layup by Kristine Silaraja (Ventspils, Latvia/Barton CC) with 9:47 remaining.
Pace brought the Red Flash's lead down to single digits when she drove to the hoop and converted a three-point play that made the score 66-58 with 8:48 left on the clock. The all-star point guard picked up her fourth foul going up for a rebound with 7:01 to go, but the threat of a foul out wasn't enough to slow her down.
Pace carried on to score seven more and pull the Colonials within 77-76 on another conventional three-point play. Next time down the floor she kicked the ball out to teammate Monica Jones (Pittsburgh, PA/Howard College) who hit the go-ahead hoop with 1:13 left.
A free throw from Mary Durojaye (London, England) bumped RMU's advantage to 79-77 as the clock read 00:34 to set the stage for Hodges.
Both teams shot an even 50 percent in the first half, but the Red Flash held a 12-point lead at the break thanks to 8 three-pointers to RMU's two.
Semifinals
#2 Long Island 61, #6 Central Connecticut State 55
Loretto, PA -- Second-seeded Long Island withstood a late push from No. 6 Central Connecticut State to win its semifinal round match-up, 61-55, at the 2010 Northeast Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament.
LIU received a combined 34 points and 17 rebounds from sophomore Ashley Palmer (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) and junior Chelsi Johnson (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Holy Spirit).
Palmer, who notched a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, sunk a free throw to give the Blackbirds their first lead, 18-17, 13:32 into the first half, and the team never looked back.
Long Island closed the first half on a 17-4 run to take a 34-21 lead into the locker room.
Facing a 41-27 deficit with 15:24 to go in the game, CCSU erupted on an 11-2 spurt over thenext 3:08 to close within five points.
“I think our intensity picked up in the second half, but like coach said, it’s just too little too late, and we couldn’t get over the hump,” said CCSU junior Leanne Crockett (Manchester, CT/Manchester) who tallied 16 points and eight rebounds.
The Blue Devils cut LIU’s advantage down to three points on four occasions, but could get no closer.
Long Island head coach Gail Striegler wasn’t surprised her team weathered the storm.
“It’s been that way all year long,” said the head coach whose first NEC Tournament appearance has yielded a trip to the NEC Championship Game. “Whenever people made runs at us, we were able to bounce back and hold on.”
One day after dominating Sacred Heart on the glass, CCSU suffered lost the rebounding battle by a 38-29 margin.
LIU cashed in on the offensive boards where they corralled 16 caroms to the Blue Devils’ six. As a result, Long Island out-scored its opponents 12-2 in second-chance points.
“Connie James, whose about 5-foot-7, had seven offensive rebounds and our whole team only had six,” said CCSU head coach Beryl Piper whose team had a number of players fighting through illness.
James, who hails from Galloway, NJ, finished with 10 points and 12 boards.