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Erika Stupinski handed out all of her game-high eight assists in the second half in the 67-58 win over Bryant. |
Philadelphia, Pa. - A second half scoring explosion, sparked by veterans and newcomers alike, helped No. 8 Stonehill overcome a nine point halftime deficit and post a thrilling 67-58 win over Bryant in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Northeast Regional at the Campus Center on Friday afternoon.
With the win, Stonehill improves to 27-4 overall and advances to the regional semifinals for the 15th time in the program's history. They will face Franklin Pierce on Saturday at 6 p.m.
"I'm just so proud of the effort of the whole team," said Stonehill head coach Trisha Brown. "Clearly kids came off the bench ready to play and this team kept it to what it has been about all year and that's possession by possession."
After falling behind by 12 in the early moments of the second half, Stonehill went on an 11-2 run that featured two deep three-pointers from sophomore Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y.), trimming the lead to 36-33.
The Bulldogs pushed the bulge back up to eight at 43-35, but senior Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine) converted a traditional three-point play and then freshman Ashley Caiafa (Massapequa, N.Y.) made back-to-back hustle plays that energized the Skyhawks and pushed them ahead.
Matched up with Bulldog point guard Lynn-Ann Kokoski, Caiafa picked her pocket along the leftside and scored an easy breakaway basket. Then on the next possession, she collected her own rebound of a missed three-pointer and finished strong inside. A Bryant turnover and a short jumper from junior Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.) later, capped a 9-0 run and gave Stonehill their first lead of the game at 44-43 with 11:39 left.
The two teams traded baskets and the lead for the next four minutes until a Stupinski triple from the top of the key gave Stonehill the lead for good and sparked the game-clinching 11-0 run.
"These kids did a great job battling back in the second half against a very tough Bryant team."
Stonehill outscored the Bulldogs 46-28 in the final 20 minutes and connected on 54 percent of their second half shots.
Simonds carried the Stonehill offense early on, making her first three shots before picking up two early fouls. Bryant took advantage of her absence, scoring 20 of their 30 first half points in the paint. Conversely for the Skyhawks, they struggled scoring, making just 7-of-31 from the field in the first half, including missing all 12 of their three-point attempts.
Caiafa scored 10 of her career-high 12 points in the second half and added six rebounds and three steals.
Simonds finished with 16 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals in just 25 minutes.
Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.) added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Erin Gray (Clifton Park, N.Y.) who helped filled in admirably for a foul-plagued Simonds, grabbed seven rebounds in 16 minutes.
Stupinski, who played all but the final 1.6 of the game, had 12 points, eight assists and five rebounds. All eight of her helpers came in the second half, when Stonehill has 12 assists on their 18 baskets and just two turnovers.
"I think we had the focus where we always knew it was going to be about us," said Stupinski. "We determine the outcome of the game and when things started flowing a little bit better everyone had that confidence."