(03-05-08)
Box Score
WEST HAVEN, Conn. -- Natasha Pierre-Louis scored 13 points and Helin Marte (photo) had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, as the top-seeded University of New Haven women's basketball team defeated eighth seed Dowling College, 72-58, in the quarterfinals of the 2008 East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Championships at Charger Gymnasium Wednesday night.
UNH (20-8) won its seventh in a row and has now prevailed in 15 of the last 17 contests. No. 1 UNH advances to the semifinals to face No. 4 Bridgeport (17-11), which defeated No. 5 Adelphi on Wednesday. That game will tip off at noon on Saturday, March 8 at Queens College's Fitzgerald Gymnasium, to be followed by (3) C.W. Post and (2) Molloy in the second semifinal.
Dowling (9-19) got a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds from Michelle Yawn, while Molly Tubridy had 14 points and nine boards. The Golden Lions held a slim margin in points in the paint (32-28), but turned the ball over 19 times - leading to 19 Charger points.
UNH was able to knock down eight 3-pointers, including six in the first half as the Chargers jumped out to a 40-28 halftime lead. Pierre-Louis scored 11 of her 13 in the opening period, and Marte had an eight-assist first half. Nearly every Charger shot that went down came off a layup inside (16 points in the paint), or off a crisp pass to an open shooter around the 3-point arc (6-for-12 from long range in the period).
UNH had a 26-22 lead with 6:55 remaining in the first half, as Dowling hung tough behind Yawn (14 of her points in the first). But the Chargers blew the game open with a 14-2 run over the next 5:02. Pierre-Louis scored seven of her points during the spurt - all consecutively - to push the lead from 31-24 to 38-24. Nicole Pollard capped off the string with a pair of free throws to close out UNH's first-half scoring.
UNH led 49-34 before Dowling got back into the contest with a 6-1 run, forcing a 30-second Charger time out. Nikkei Daniels hit one of two free throws to make it a 7-1 run, and UNH's lead was down to 50-41.
But that was as close as Dowling would get the rest of the way.
UNH scored three of the next four baskets to move back ahead by 13 with 9:25 left, with the final bucket coming on a Dominique Stellmacher fastbreak layup off a long pass by Briiana Rende. After a DC timeout, Stellmacher completed the three-point play to put UNH up by 14.
UNH saw six different players grab at least five rebounds, led by eight from Alysia Saunders (eight points). Freshman Yasmin Ithier-Vicenty had 9 points and six boards, while Stellmacher scored 11 points in just 11 minutes of action.
UNH has now won 20 games in five of the last six seasons, including both seasons under head coach Jessica Smith and three in a row overall. This is the eighth 20-win season in program history overall. UNH is vying for its third straight ECC tournament championship and third straight NCAA appearance.
2008 East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Championships
Quarterfinals
at (1) UNH 72, Dowling 58
at (4) Bridgeport 76, (5) Adelphi 62
at (3) C.W. Post 54, (6) Queens N.Y. 38
at (2) Molloy 70, (7) St. Thomas Aquinas 60
Semifinals
Saturday, March 8
12:00 - (4) Bridgeport vs. (1) New Haven
2:30 - (3) C.W. Post vs. (2) Molloy
Championship
Sunday, March 9
12:00 - Semifinal Winners
