Holy Family Advance to NCAA East Region Women's Basketball Semifinals
BOX
SCORE
Waltham, Mass. - The Holy Family University
women's basketball team will be heading back the NCAA Division II
East Region semifinals after defeating fifth-seeded Assumption
College by the score of 68-62 in the quarterfinals hosted by
Bentley University at the Dana Center.
Holy Family, ranked sixth in the recent USA Today/ESPN NCAA
Division II National Top-25 Coaches' Poll, improves to 28-2 overall
after winning its 16th straight game. Assumption
concludes its season at 22-8.
Holy Family, seeded fourth in the regional, will now face
top-seeded Bentley in the semifinals Saturday night. The
Falcons defeated eighth-seeded LIU Post, 68-57, in their
quarterfinal contest.
Senior Erin
Mann (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) helped fuel
the Tigers to a come-from-behind victory as the Tigers trailed by
as many as 14 points in the second half. Mann shot 8-of-10 in
the half and scored 19 of her game-high 25 points in the final
stanza. She also grabbed 11 rebounds to record her
12th double-double of the season. Mann also
blocked three shots on the defensive end.
Senior Ana
Cruz (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) shot 5-of-6 from the field,
including 4-of-5 from three-point range, to finish with 18 points
as she tied her season-high. Cruz scored 13 of her 18 points
in the first half as she knocked down three first half
three-pointers. Senior Kelly
Brady (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) tallied nine points,
while fellow classmate Molly
Hanlon (Narberth, Pa./Lower Merion) contributed eight
points and a game-high five assists.
For Assumption, senior Katy Howard led the Greyhounds with 17
points after knocking down three three-pointers (3-5). She
also finished with a game-high four steals. Fellow classmate
Gabrielle Gibson tallied 12 points, while freshman Kelly Conley
contributed 11 points off the bench. Senior Sabrina Siciliano
finished with ten points and nine rebounds.
Early in the second half, Holy Family trailed by 14 points after
Gibson drained a jumper to make the score 41-27 at the 18:56
mark.
However, over the next eight-plus minutes Holy Family would use a
13-2 run to cut the Assumption lead to one possession after Cruz
converted a pair of free throws. Her two points made the
score 43-40 with 10:39 to play in regulation.
Holy Family cut the lead to one point at the 8:52 mark after a
Brady layup made the score 48-47. After a defensive stop,
Holy Family came down the court a Mann layup gave the Tigers the
lead for the first time since the 11:24 mark of the first
half. Mann's layup made the score 49-48.
As the half progressed, Holy Family would lead by as many as six
points after Brady split a pair of free throws to make the score
56-50 with 5:54 to play.
Assumption would go on to cut into the Tigers' lead and eventually
recapture the lead with 2:33 to play after junior Jamie Insel
scored a layup to give the Greyhounds a 60-58 advantage.
The lead would be short lived as Holy Family tied the game on its
next possession after junior Mary Ellen
McCollum (Abington, Pa./St. Basil Academy) scored a
two-point basket to tie the game at 60-60.
After the Tigers took a 62-60 lead, Assumption tied the game with
1:18 to play thanks to a layup by Siciliano. From there, Holy
Family went on to score the game's final six points, including the
game-winning basket by Mann with 1:05 on the clock. Mann's
layup gave the Tigers a 64-62 lead as the team converted 4-of-4
from the free throw line in the final :19 seconds to secure the
victory.
The Holy Family defense held Assumption to 0-of-3 shooting from
the field in the final minute of action.
The Tigers finished the game shooting 24-of-50 from the field
(48.0%) and converted 16-of-17 from the free throw line.
Assumption shot 36.4-percent from the field and were 8-of-13 from
the free throw line. The Greyhounds forced 22 turnovers and
held a slight 36-35 advantage on the boards.
As mention, Holy Family is back in action on Saturday, March 16 as
the Tigers face Bentley in the East Region semifinals. Game
time is slated for 7:30 p.m. The Falcons defeated the
Tigers in last year's East Region Final.