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| Kelsey Simonds had 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks in the Skyhawks' 72-61 win over Holy Family in the East Region Semifinals. |
Skyhawks Movin On To Regional Finals
Philadelphia, Pa. - Behind a pair of standout inside performances, clutch three-point shooting and a strong defensive effort, Stonehill defeated Holy Family, 71-62, in the NCAA East Region semifinals in front of a raucous crowd at the Campus Center in Philadelphia, Pa. on Saturday evening.
With the win, the Skyhawks advance to their fifth regional final in school history and second under head coach Trish Brown. Stonehill will face Northeast-10 foe Franklin Pierce at 7 p.m. on Monday. The Ravens defeated American International on Saturday to advance to their second straight regional final.
"I could not be more proud of a team," said Brown. "In responding to hard loss to Saint Rose in our league tournament, I think this team in one week really turned it around and came with a different focus and a different intensity and that's what you are seeing these last two nights."
Trailing 11-10 less than eight minutes into the contest, Stonehill embarked on a 12-1 run capped by a Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.) three-pointer to give the Skyhawks a 22-12 lead.
The Tigers got the lead down to three in the final minute of the half but a Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H.) triple from the top of the key gave Stonehill a 31-25 lead at the break.
The game remained tight in the opening moments of the second stanza and Holy Family closed within two, but back-to-back three-point bombs from Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y.) upped the Stonehill advantage back to eight at 41-33 with a little more than 13 minutes left.
The Tigers, who entered the game a combined 58-6 over the past two seasons, answered back behind Catherine Carr, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference player of the year, who matched Methven's triples with a pair of her own sandwiched around an Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine) jumper.
Three-pointers from both Tighe and McWhirter were followed by a long two from Carr, another Rousseau pull-up jumper and an inside hoop from Carr, making the score 51-43 with 7:56 left.
Holy Family got to within two at 55-53 on a Melissa Brooks basket but Stonehill held the Tigers without a basket for more than three minutes and responded with a game-clinching 9-1 run, highlighted by a pair of hoops from Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.) and another Rousseau jumper.
Stonehill then connected on all eight of its free throws down the stretch to help seal the win.
The Skyhawks shot 56 percent from the field for the game, including a sizzling 63 percent in the second half, while holding Holy Family to 37 percent.
After going 4-for-30 from three-point land in last year's regional semifinal loss to Franklin Pierce, the Skyhawks connected on 7-of-15 attempts against Holy Family, including a 4-for-7 performance in the second half.
Four players reached double-digits for the Skyhawks led by Tighe's 22 points and eight rebounds. Simonds had an excellent all-around game with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Rousseau (12 points, five assists, four rebounds) and Methven (11 points, four rebounds) joined them, while McWhirter added nine points, six rebounds and four assists.
Carr, who at one point scored 14 straight Tiger points, had 26, while Lauren Peters had 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.