Martin scored 11 of her 16 points in the second half to help the Skyhawks break the game open. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Hyslip double-double sends Skyhawks into Thursday semifinals
EASTON, Mass. (February 25, 2018) – Northeast Division top-seed and Northeast-10 Conference regular season champions Stonehill College, ranked No. 7 in this week's D2SIDA Top 25 Media Poll and 18th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II poll, raced out to a 17-point lead after a quarter of play and didn't look back in rolling a 90-65 triumph over Southwest Division No. 4 Adelphi University in quarterfinal round action of the 2018 NE10 women's basketball tournament on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium this afternoon.
Stonehill (25-2, 20-1 NE10) advances to Thursday's NE10 semifinal round, where it will host Southwest No. 2 Le Moyne College (17-10, 12-8 NE10) at Merkert Gym at 7 p.m. The Dolphins advanced with a similarly comfortable 77-49 victory over Northeast No. 3 Saint Anselm College in an earlier quarterfinal today. Adelphi, the defending NE10 Tournament champions, sees its season come to a close with a 14-16 record overall, including 9-11 in the NE10.
Senior forward Samantha Hyslip (Westford, Massachusetts/Westford Academy) led four Stonehill players in double-figures with her ninth double-double of the season (16th career) with game-high totals of 20 points and 11 rebounds, while adding two assists and two blocked shots, shooting 7-for-9 from the field and converting 6-of-7 free-throws in 27 minutes. Senior Kelly Martin (Scituate, Massachusetts/Scituate) scored 11 of her 16 points in the second half, while adding eight rebounds and four assists, and sophomore Grace Carter (Arlington, Massachusetts/Arlington) matched her career-high with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point distance and four assists.
Senior Elizabeth Grip (Shrewsbury, Massachusetts/Shrewsbury) rounded out Stonehill's double-digit scorers with 11 points, three rebounds, four blocked shots and two assists. Classmate Courtney Walsh (Windham, New Hampshire/Central Catholic) chipped in nine points, five boards and four assists, while sophomore Gabrielle Reuter (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Lawrence Academy) and freshman Jennifer Worden (Abington, Massachusetts/Abington) each chipped in eight points. Junior Tayler Wornum (Randolph, Massachusetts/Archbishop Williams) hauled in seven rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench as the Skyhawks held a 49-36 rebounding advantage for the afternoon.
Hyslip posted her ninth double-double of the season to help power the Skyhawks past Adelphi. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Freshman Emily Miccile (Wrentham, Massachusetts/Bishop Feehan) led a pair of Adelphi players in double-figures with 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Senior Simone Hobdy (St. Albans, New York/The Mary Louis Academy) added 11 points and six rebounds, while classmate Natalie Fekula (Monongahela, Pennsylvania/Elizabeth) chipped in seven points, eight boards and two steals. The Panthers were limited to 34.3-percent shooting from the field, including 7-for-26 (26.9%) from three-point range, connecting on just 3-of-16 shots (18.8%) in the first quarter.
Stonehill led start to finish, with Hyslip opening the scoring with a three-point play just five seconds in, jumping out to a 13-point lead (15-2) midway through the opening quarter after back-to-back baskets from Reuter, who scored six of her eight points over that opening surge. Carter and Walsh also buried three-pointers to spark the run as well. The Skyhawks lead reached 17 (25-8) by the end of the first quarter, with Walsh, Carter and Reuter finishing the frame with six points each as the host buried 10-of-20 shots, including 4-for-9 from three-point range, in the opening ten minutes.
Stonehill continued its blitz in the second quarter, scoring ten of the first 12 points of the stanza to open a 25-point lead after a Hyslip layup three minutes in. The Skyhawks lead swelled to 29 (40-11) with a Worden three-pointer with four minutes remaining in the half, before settling for a 25-point halftime lead (46-21).
Stonehill's lead wouldn't dip inside 20 points the rest of the way on its way to a 24th NE10 semifinal appearance. Martin restored the Skyhawks 29-point cushion (61-32) with a three-point midway through the third quarter, and the lead reached a game-high 36 (72-36) after Wornum capped an 11-0 run with 38-seconds remaining in the third. Martin sparked the run with another three-pointer, while Grip added four points.
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