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| Senior Bethany Tighe registered her tenth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Skyhawks defeated Saint Rose, 62-58 in the NCAA Regional Quarterfinals. |
Fourth Time Is The Charm - Skyhawks Advance To Regional Semis
Philadelphia, Pa. - The veteran combination of senior Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.) and junior Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.) made several huge plays down the stretch to catapult third-seeded Stonehill to a thrilling 62-58 win over sixth-seeded Saint Rose in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA East Regional at the Campus Center at Holy Family University on Friday evening.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Golden Knights and moved Stonehill into regional semifinals for the second consecutive season and sixth time in seven trips to the NCAA Tournament under head coach Trish Brown.
"It was a battle for 40 minutes," said Brown. "I'm just so proud of this team for what they brought. We knew this was a team that has had our number this year and I can't say enough about those two kids (Simonds and Tighe), especially Bethany, as a senior, coming up with huge plays at the end of the game. That's what being a senior is all about and she really got it done for us down the stretch."
After trailing by as many as six early on, Stonehill took the lead with a 19-5 run midway through the first half to assume a 31-23 lead. The spurt was spearheaded by a three-point play from Simonds as well as three-pointers from both Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y.) and Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H.).
The Skyhawks held onto the lead for the remainder of the half and went into the locker room with a 35-32 edge.
A 7-0 run to start the second 20 minutes, highlighted by an inside hoop from Simonds gave Stonehill its biggest lead of the game at 43-32 with 15:35 left.
Saint Rose, who earlier in the season overcame double digit deficits to beat Stonehill in two of the three matchups during the regular season, ran off eight straight to close the gap to within three.
After a Simonds jumper ended the Golden Knights scoring spree, Saint Rose scored six straight to take their first lead since the first half at 46-45 with 11:56 remaining.
From there, the lead changed hands four more times and the Golden Knights were leading 58-57 at the 1:48 mark following a pair of Ashley Anderson free throws.
On the Skyhawks' next possession, Tighe drained a wide open three-pointer from the top of the key, giving the lead back to Stonehill at 60-58 with 1:29 left.
Saint Rose missed a shot on its next trip down the court but McWhirter missed a three-pointer of her own moments later for Stonehill. A long rebound found its way to Anderson who attempted to weave through traffic while dribbling but her pocket was picked by Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine), giving possession back to Stonehill.
Methven had a chance to seal the win for the Skyhawks but her short jumper hit the front rim and the Golden Knights still had a chance to tie the game with 14 seconds left.
After a timeout, Saint Rose went inside to Anderson but she was called for an offensive foul, turning the ball back over to the Skyhawks.
Tighe was fouled on the inbounds play and the nation's No. 2 free throw shooter sank both sealing the win, giving Stonehill a 62-58 lead with 11 seconds left.
The Skyhawks, who struggled from behind the arc in both games in the NCAA Tournament a season ago, made 5-of-16 from three-point land and held a 39-33 edge on the glass.
After allowing the Golden Knights to connect on 44 percent of their attempts in the three previous meetings, Saint Rose made just 35 percent of its shots and didn't make a basket from the field in the final four minutes.
Simonds finished with a game-high 19 points while adding eight rebounds and three blocks in just 25 minutes. Tighe recorded her tenth double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Rousseau, who had 10 of her 12 points in the first half, added six rebounds three assists and two steals.
McWhirter, meanwhile, provided some assistance on the glass, hauling in 10 rebounds to go along with six points and three assists.
Dana Brown paced the Golden Knights (20-11) with 17 points and six assists, while Anderson finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists before fouling out. Lynsey Timbrouck, who didn't take a shot in the meeting in the Northeast-10 Tournament last week, had seven points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals in 40 minutes of action.
Stonehill, now 21-8, will face regional host Holy Family on Saturday at 8 p.m. with the winner advancing to the regional championship on Monday night at 7 p.m.
The Skyhawks and Tigers have met once before in the NCAA Tournament. Back in the 2004 behind 19 points, seven assists and six steals from Jillian Middlemiss, Stonehill defeated Holy Family 57-55.