Senior Kelsey Simonds closed out her collegiate career tonight with 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots in the Skyhawks loss to Holy Family in the NCAA Tournament. |
2010 NCAA DIVISION II EAST
REGIONAL
Holy Family Stops Stonehill in Semifinal, 64-47
Tigers hold Skyhawks to 31-percent shooting, including 3-of-17 from three-point range to advance to Monday’s regional final
FITCHBURG, Mass. (March 13, 2010) – Second-seeded Holy Family University, ranked 16th in this week’s USA Today/ESPN/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II poll used a strong defensive effort to claim a 64-47 victory over third-seeded Stonehill College, among teams receiving votes nationally, in semifinal round action of the 2010 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball East Regional Tournament, hosted by Franklin Pierce University and played at the Recreation Center on the campus of Fitchburg State College.
Holy Family (30-2, 19-0 CACC) advances to Monday’s East Regional Final where it will face the winner of tonight’s second semifinal between top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Franklin Pierce University and fifth-seeded Molloy College at 7 p.m. The Tigers have reached the regional final for the second time in three years. Stonehill sees its season come to a close at 24-10 overall, including a 16-6 mark in Northeast-10 play, earning its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance after reaching the NE-10 championship for the tenth time in program history last week.
Junior Catherine Carr (Bernardsville, N.J./Bernards) led Holy Family with 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sophomore Lauren Peters (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) posted 14 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the field, including 2-for-4 from three-point range, six rebounds, three steals and two assists. Junior Lindsey Tennett (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) added 12 points, shooting 4-for-7 from the field and converting all four free-throw attempts, and nine rebounds off the bench. Senior Nya Daley (Toronto, Ontario/The Patterson School) rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Tigers with ten points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Senior Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) was the lone Stonehill player in double-figures with 12 points, aided by 8-of-9 shooting from the free-throw line, to go with seven rebounds and four blocked shots. She finished her illustrious career for the Skyhawks with a program-record 252 blocked shots, 1,686 points and 919 rebounds in 114 games played.
Junior Kristen McWhirter chipped in eight points. |
Junior Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H./New Hampton Prep) added eight points, while senior Erin Gray (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) chipped in with six boards.
Holy Family finished shooting 38.2-percent (21-for-55) from the field after making 40.6% (13-for-32) of its shots in the first half to take an 11-point lead into the lockerroom at halftime. Stonehill was limited to 31.4% (16-51) shooting, including 7-for-24 (29.2%) in the second half, for the night. Both teams struggled from three-point range, with the Tigers making just 4-of-12 (33.3%) from deep and the Skyhawks only 3-for-17 (17.6%). Holy Family dominated the glass, out-rebounding Stonehill by a 47-26 margin, including 20-15 on its own offensive end of the floor.
Holy Family never trailed and used a 10-2 run late in the first half to turn a four-point lead into a 12-point cushion (29-17) after a jumper from Peters with 2:22 remaining. Tennett scored four points during that stretch and a three-pointer by freshman Molly Hanlon (Narbeth, Pa./Lower Merion) pushed the lead into double-figures for the first time. The Tigers kept the momentum going in the second half, stretching the lead to 18 (39-21) after a put back from Daley 4:01 in.
Stonehill pulled within 14 (40-26) after five-straight free-throws by Simonds, but Peters drilled a three-pointer with 12:41 to play that sparked a 7-0 run to push the lead to 21 (47-26) after another Peters three with 10:27 remaining. A 12-2 Skyhawks run pulled them back within 11 (49-38) after a McWhirter three with 5:50 left. That would prove to be as close as Stonehill would get as Holy Family did enough at the line the rest of the way to seal the win.
Holy Family started quick, scoring the first six points of the night, with four coming from Carr. Stonehill answered with a 6-0 run of its own to force the first of two early ties following a layup by sophomore Priscilla Dodoo (Worcester, Mass./Burncoat) seven minutes into the half. The Tigers started to gain some breathing room with a 7-2 run to take a seven-point lead (17-10) following a Daly layup with 8:34 left in the half.
