Northeast #2 Skyhawks host Southwest #3 New Haven in quarterfinal round at 3 p.m.
NE10 Women's Basketball Championship Central
BROCKTON ENTERPRISE: "Stonehill women host New Haven in NE-10 tourney Sunday"
BROCKTON ENTERPRISE: "Easton's Kayla Raymond is right at home at Stonehill"
Raymond has made an immediate impact as a freshman for the Skyhawks, leading them back into the NE10 Tournament (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
EASTON, Mass. (March 2, 2019) – After clinching homecourt advantage on the final night of the Northeast-10 Conference regular season, Northeast Division No. 2-seeded Stonehill College, will host the University of New Haven, seeded No. 3 from the Southwest Division, in quarterfinal round action of the 2019 NE10 Women's Basketball Tournament on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Admission will be $8.00 for adults, $5.00 for children and senior citizens and $1.00 for students from participating institutions with a valid college ID. Stonehill students will be admitted free of charge with their HillCard, courtesy of the Department of Athletics and Student Affairs. A live video webcast of the game will be available by SkyhawksVision on NE10 NOW, with Charlie Bergeron calling the action. In addition to viewing the game online, with live stats also available, via stonehillskyhawks.com, NE10 NOW viewers will also be able to watch the action live on their televisions through Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku.
Stonehill (19-8, 14-7 NE10), ranked No. 6 in each of the first two NCAA Division II East Regional rankings released this season, is the only program to compete in all 38 NE10 Women's Basketball Tournaments since the Conference began sponsoring the championship in 1982. The Skyhawks have reached the NE10 Championship game 11 times, including last season when they were edged by rival Bentley University, 73-72 in overtime, in a game played at Bryant University. Stonehill has won the NE10 Tournament Championship five times: 1983, '87, '95, '97 and 2008. The Skyhawks are hosting a postseason game for the third-straight season after posting a 5-0 record in postseason play at Merkert Gym last winter, which included a 71-61 victory over University of the Sciences in the NCAA East Regional final.
Stonehill heads into the postseason with a new-look squad after graduating six seniors from last year's Elite Eight team. The Skyhawks are winners of two-straight and four of five after Tuesday's 60-48 win over regionally-ranked Saint Anselm College that clinched the No. 2 seed in the Northeast Division after the two entered the game tied. Stonehill will be looking to reach the 20-win plateau for the second-straight year and 26th time in program history overall, having won 20 games ten times in head coach Trisha Brown's 18 seasons at the helm so far.
Carter is adding 10.3 points per game on 35.3% shooting from three-point range (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
New Haven (17-11, 10-10 NE10) is making its seventh NE10 Tournament appearance since joining the Conference prior to the 2008-09 season. The Chargers are back in the NE10 Tournament after a three-year hiatus, seeking their first trip to the NE10 Championship game, having reached the semifinals twice. New Haven has won its last three after a 55-50 triumph over Southwest top-seed Le Moyne College to close out the regular season on Tuesday that clinch a first round bye.
Sunday marks the 35th meeting all-time between these two programs, the fifth in postseason play, but first in the NE10 Tournament. Stonehill holds a 26-8 advantage in the series with New Haven, having won the last four matchups, including a 75-67 triumph in the regular season meeting between the two in West Haven, Connecticut, on January 26. The Chargers are 3-1 against the Skyhawks in the postseason, with all of the four prior encounters coming in the NCAA Tournament, including a 58-57 last-second win in the 2015 NCAA East Regional Championship in Garden City, New York.
Sophomore Jennifer Worden led four Stonehill players in double figures during the regular season matchup this winter, by connecting on a career-best 6-of-9 three-pointers for a career-high 18 points, while adding six assists, four rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal. She kept the Skyhawks afloat with 12 of her points (4-of-6 from deep) in the first half, while freshman Emily Bramanti netted ten of her 14 points in the second half, including eight during the third period alone, to go with three rebounds and three assists. Junior Micah Wormack finished with a game-high 23 points for New Haven, including 16 in the first half, shooting 7-for-11 from the floor and converting 9-of-12 free-throws to go with seven rebounds (five offensive). Senior Alexandria Kerr sparked the Chargers to a ten point lead after a quarter of play by scoring 13 of her 20 points in the first quarter alone, finishing off a double-double with 11 rebounds, four assists and four steals.
The winner of tomorrow's game will advance to Thursday's NE10 semifinal round to face the winner of tomorrow's quarterfinal between Northeast No. 4 Merrimack College (20-9, 12-9 NE10) and Southwest No. 1 Le Moyne (21-5, 15-5 NE10) that tips off in Syracuse, New York, at 2 p.m. The NE10 Championship game is scheduled for Sunday, March 10, at the home of the highest remaining seed at 1 p.m.
Stonehill enters the postseason ranked fifth in the NE10 for scoring defense (59.5 ppg) and sixth for scoring offense (67.7 ppg), leading the NE10 and ranking fourth nationally in Division II with 18.9 assists per game. The Skyhawks rank fourth in the Conference for field goal percentage (.417) and fifth in three-point field goal percentage (33%), connecting on 7.1 three-point field goals per game (4th). Stonehill leads the NE10 with 5.1 blocked shots per game, ranking tenth nationally, and assist/turnover ratio (15th nationally).
Worden buried six three-pointers for a career-high 18 points in the regular season matchup with the Chargers (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Stonehill is led by NE10 Rookie of the Year candidate Kayla Raymond, a nine-time NE10 Rookie of the Week selection, who is averaging a team-high 16.1 points per game (8th NE10), shooting 49.5-percent from the field (13th), including 39.1% (34-for-87) from three-point distance (8th), and converting 81.1% (30-37) of her free-throws. She is also contributing 5.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.7 blocked shots (6th) and a steal in 23.5 minutes per game. Raymond's 370 points this season ranks fourth among Stonehill freshmen in program history, 80-points shy of Stonehill and NE10 Hall of Famer Sue Patchett, '97 who netted a program-record 450 points in her first collegiate season in 1993-94.
Junior Grace Carter is the only other Stonehill player scoring in double figures with 10.3 points per game, connecting at 35.3% (65-184) from three-point distance (7th NE10), with 2.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and a steal per game. Classmate Gabrielle Reuter adds 9.4 points on 53.5% shooting, with 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocked shots (5th) per game, while Worden contributes 8.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists (7th) and 1.3 steals per contest.
New Haven leads the NE10 with 10.3 steals per game, forcing 17.8 turnovers (3rd NE10), and committing the second-lowest fouls per game (14.5) in the league. The Chargers rank second in the NE10 for scoring defense (57.5 ppg) and 12th in scoring offense (61.3 ppg), ranking seventh for field goal percentage defense (.384), but third for three-point percentage defense (.296), while ranking third in rebound margin (+6.1).
Kerr leads two double-figure scorers for New Haven with 16.0 points per game (9th) on 41.4-percent shooting, with 8.5 rebounds (8th), 2.9 assists and an NE10-best 3.0 steals in 36.5 minutes per game. Wormack adds 12.5 points on an NE10-high 54.6% shooting, and 7.7 rebounds (10th), with 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocked shots (9th), while Camryn DeBose contributes 9.6 points, connecting on 32.4% of her three-pointers, with 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals (5th).
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
2019 Northeast-10 Conference
Women's Basketball Tournament
Friday, March 1
First Round
Game 1: NE #4 Merrimack 75, SW #5 Southern Connecticut State 62
Game 2: SW #4 American International 79, NE #5 Southern New Hampshire 55
Sunday, March 3:
Quarterfinals
Game 3: NE #4 Merrimack (20-9, 12-9 NE10) at SW #1 Le Moyne (21-5, 15-5 NE10), 2 p.m.
Game 4: SW #4 American International (16-13, 10-10 NE10) at NE #1 Bentley (26-2, 20-1 NE10), 3 p.m.
Game 5: NE #3 Saint Anselm (18-8, 13-8 NE10) at SW #2 Adelphi (15-12, 12-8 NE10), 3 p.m.
Game 6: SW #3 New Haven (17-11, 10-10 NE10) at NE #2 Stonehill (19-8, 14-7 NE10), 3 p.m.
Thursday, March 7
Semifinals (at highest remaining seeds):
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 10
Championship (at highest remaining seed)*:
Game 9: Game 8 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 1 p.m.
* - if same seed, site determined by winner of regular-season matchup