Stonehill rock solid in regional semi
Courtney Walsh scored 22 points including four 3-pointers to help the Stonehill women’s basketball team advance to the NCAA tournament’s East Regional final with a 63-52 win against St. Thomas Aquinas yesterday in Easton.
The Skyhawks (28-3), playing at home as the top seed in the regional, will face the third-seeded University of the Sciences tomorrow night in the championship game. The winner advances to the Division 2 Elite Eight in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Senior captain Kelly Martin, the Northeast-10 Player of the Year, added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists for Stonehill, which used an 18-10 advantage in the third quarter to pull away from the fourth-seeded Spartans (23-5). Elizabeth Grip had 10 points and three blocks, and Samantha Hyslip pulled down 11 rebounds for the Skyhawks.
Univ. of the Sciences 61, Bentley 54 — Sarah Abbonizio had 20 points for the Devils (30-3) during a win over the Falcons (284) in the early NCAA Division 3 women’s game in Easton.
Penn 57, Harvard 52 — Kate Benzan had 20 points and Jeannie Boehm grabbed 14 rebounds but it wasn’t enough for the Crimson (1810) to avoid an Ivy League tournament loss to the Quakers (21-7) at the Palestra in Philadelphia.
Bowdoin 66, Tufts 48 — Taylor Choate had 18 points to power the Polar Bears (28-2) over the Jumbos (26-5) in the NCAA Division 3 national quarterfinals in Scranton, Pa. Bowdoin’s Kate Kerrigan of Wellesley had 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Amherst 61, Rochester 38 — Emma McCarthy had 17 points while Madeline Eck and Hannah Hackley of Westford each had 15 for the Mammoths (31-0) in a NCAA Div. 3 win over the Yellowjackets (24-5). Amherst advanced to a third straight national semifinals.
Men
UMBC 65, Vermont 62 — Jairus Lyles improvised in the final moments and hit a long 3-pointer with less than a second left, lifting the Retrievers (24-10) over the top-seeded Catamounts (277) in the America East championship game in Burlington, Vt.
Merrimack 85, Bridgeport 70 — Mansfield’s Ryan Boulter had 20 points as the Warriors (20-11) stunned the 13th-ranked Purple Knights (25-6) in the NCAA Division 2 regional quarterfinal in Syracuse, N.Y.
Saint Rose 83, Saint Anselm 71 — Matt Cerutti had 21 points plus nine rebounds for the Golden Knights (21-9) during an NCAA Division 2 regional quarterfinal against the Hawks (22-9) in Syracuse.
Springfield 74, Swarthmore 62 — Jake Ross had 23 points and Heath Post grabbed 15 rebounds as the Pride (23-8) earned a spot in the Division 3 national semifinals with a win over the 14th-ranked Garnet (26-6) in Swarthmore, Pa.
Ramapo 68, MIT 66 — Christopher Moseley knocked down two free throws with 0.9 seconds left to lift the Roadrunners (25-6) to victory over the No. 19 Engineers (256) in the NCAA Division 3 national quarterfinals in Mahwah, N.J.