O'Brien and Austin combine for 44 points as Sharks bury 11 three-pointers to clinch final NEC Tournament bid
Ward led three Skyhawks in double-figures with 17 points, adding eight rebounds and two assists (PHOTO BY Jennifer Raider) |
EASTON, Mass. (March 7, 2024) – Long Island University buried 11 three-pointers and wrapped up the remaining spot in next week's Northeast Conference Tournament with a 74-65 victory over Stonehill College in the NEC women's basketball regular season finale on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.
LIU (8-21, 5-11 NEC) wrapped up the No. 6 seed for next week's NEC Tournament and will visit No. 3-seeded FDU (13-16, 11-5 NEC) for an NEC Quarterfinal matchup on Monday at 7 p.m. Stonehill (4-25, 4-12 NEC) wrapped up a postseason berth on Saturday and finishes tonight as the No. 7 seed, where it will face former Northeast-10 Conference rival and No. 2-seed Le Moyne College (16-13, 14-2 NEC) for their Monday night NEC Quarterfinal in Syracuse, New York, at 7 p.m.
Senior Ashley Austin and junior Emaia O'Brien combined for 44 of LIU's 74 points and connected on nine of the Sharks 11 three-pointers on the night. O'Brien led all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 5-for-8 from three-point distance, with four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Austin came off the bench to add 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, seven rebounds, five steals, two assists and a blocked shot. Both scored 16 of their points in the second half, combining to score 32 of the Sharks 43 points over the final 20-minutes, canning all seven of the team's three-pointers in the second half as the duo finished a combined 7-for-11 (63.6-percent) from long range in the half.
Sophomore Mariah Elohim rounded out LIU's double-figure scorers with 16 points, including ten in the first half, five rebounds and two steals. Freshman Janessa Williams pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for the Sharks, while chipping in five points, two steals and an assist.
Hayward drained four three-pointers on her way to 14 points (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Senior Cameron Ward paced a balanced scoring effort from Stonehill that featured three in double-figures with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting, including 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the first half, with eight rebounds, two assists and a steal. Postgrad Lauren Sampson and junior Sharn Hayward followed with 14 points apiece, combining for six of the Skyhawks eight three-pointers. Sampson scored all of her points in the second half, including 12 in the fourth quarter alone, finishing 6-for-16 from the floor, including 2-for-7 from beyond the arc, with four rebounds and two steals, while Hayward netted 11 of her 14 points in the second half, connecting on 4-of-10 three-pointers, with three assists.
Junior Maureen Stapleton collected a team-high 11 rebounds for Stonehill, marking her ninth double-figure rebound game of the season, while freshman Chayil Mauristhene scored all her season-high eight points off the bench in the first half. Freshman Brooke Paquette chipped in nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, six rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.
After a back and forth opening three-minutes of the contest, LIU scored nine-straight from four different players over the next four minutes to grab a ten-point lead (15-5) after a jumper by Elohim with 3:33 to play in the first quarter. The Sharks carried an eight-point lead (17-9) into the second quarter and then Stonehill scored seven of the first nine points of the frame to draw back within three (19-16), sparked by a Paquette three-pointer and then capped by four-straight by Ward, less than 90-seconds in.
The teams traded baskets for the next five minutes before Stonehill used a 10-0 run bookended by Mauristhene layups to grab the lead (30-27) with a minute remaining in the half. Austin pushed LIU back in front (31-30) with a layup with 23-seconds left, but Mauristhene capped the first half with an acrobatic second chance overhead lay-in at the buzzer to send the Skyhawks into halftime with the lead (32-31).
Austin and Hayward traded three-pointers in the opening two minutes of the second half, but a second from the LIU senior nosed the Sharks in front for good (37-35). Stonehill was still within three (44-41) after a Hayward jumper with 3:42 to play in the third, but LIU scored the final six points of the quarter with an Austin triple and conventional three-point play by O'Brien to give the Sharks a nine-point cushion (50-41) heading to the final quarter.
Mauristhene scored all eight of her season-high point total during the first half (PHOTO BY Jennifer Raider) |
LIU extended its lead to ten points (53-43) on a three-point play after a Sampson layup a minute into the fourth. Four-straight from Sampson pulled Stonehill back within six (53-47) a minute later, but O'Brien scored five-straight, including a three-pointer, to stretch the Sharks lead to 11 (58-47) with 7:32 remaining. LIU extended the advantage to 14 (70-56) on a fastbreak layup by Austin with 1:28 remaining that was enough to hold off Stonehill threes from Sampson and Hayward in the final minute and wrap up the win.
Noteworthy
- Stonehill has qualified for its conference tournament every year it has been eligible to do so throughout the program's history, earning its first NEC Tournament appearance after being the lone program to qualify for the first 39 Northeast-10 Conference Tournaments prior to making the transition to the Division I level.
- Stonehill finished shooting 43.5-percent (27-for-62) for the night, including a combined 20-for-33 (60.6%) in the second and fourth quarters, connecting on 4-of-7 three-pointers (57.1%) in the fourth, but was a combined 7-for-29 (24.1%) in the first and third quarters, outscoring LIU 47-38 in the even frames.
- Ward led Stonehill scorers for the fourth time of her career, all this season, with her eighth double-figure scoring game of the year (10th career), including six over the last eight games.
- Hayward has her tenth double-figure scoring game of the season (11th career), but her first since 12 points at Saint Francis on February 24th and the second time over the last nine games.
- Sampson broke a string of six games without reaching double-digits in scoring with her ninth double-figure game of the year (14 career).
Up Next
Stonehill (4-25, 4-12 NEC) will head to Syracuse, New York, for its NEC Tournament debut on Monday for a quarterfinal round matchup at No. 2-seeded Le Moyne College at 7 p.m. LIU (8-21, 5-11 NEC) visits No. 3-seed FDU for their NEC quarterfinal on Monday at 7 p.m.
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