While regular season champion Quinnipiac and second-seeded Sacred Heart cruised to victories in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 NEC Women's Basketball Tournament, there were a pair of barnburners that went right down to the wire.  Sixth-seeded Mount St. Mary's sprung the upset of third-seeded Monmouth, winning in overtime, 59-57, on an Ashley Christie layup with eight seconds on the clock in the extra session.  Saint Francis U went to their All-NEC junior forward with the game on the line as Allie Williams hit the go-ahead layup with 27 seconds to play and clinched the win with a pair of free throws as the Red Flash beat fifht-seeded CCSU, 66-63.  Quinnipiac won its 20th straight game and improved to 28-2 on the year with a 79-55 conquest of eighth-seeded Bryant. Felicia Barron and Samantha Guastella led four players in double-digits with 13 points apiece.  Down the road in Fairfield, Sacred Heart limited seventh-seeded St. Francis Brooklyn to just 17 first half points in a 64-38 victory.  Sophomore Gabrielle Washington netted a game-high 21 points and snared eight boards for the Pioneers.

The semifinals are set for Wednesday, March 13 with Quinnipiac hosting Mount St. Mary's and Saint Francis U visiting Sacred Heart.  Both games tip at 7:00 pm and will air live on NEC Front Row in HD.

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#1 Quinnipiac 79, #8 Bryant 55
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Hamden, CT -- The top-seeded Quinnipiac University women's basketball team will serve as one of four NEC teams to play again on Wednesday night, as the Bobcats defeated the eighth-seeded Bryant University Bulldogs, 79-55, on Sunday in the NEC Quarterfinals at the TD Bank Sports Center. With the win, Quinnipiac improves to 28-2 overall and has now matched the most wins in a single season in program history.

The semifinals will take place on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Mount St. Mary's upset Monmouth in the 6/3 match-up and will head to Hamden to take on the Bobcats. Sacred Heart will host Saint Francis University on the other side of the bracket.

Quinnipiac, now winners 20 straight games which is tied for the fifth longest in the nation, was led by four players in double-figures. Felicia Barron (Springfield, Mass.) finished with a team-high 13 points, three assists and two steals; Samantha Guastella (Red Bank, N.J.) matched Barron with 13 points and three rebounds; Brittany McQuain (Independence, Mo.) chipped in with 11 points and a season-high 16 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season; and Jasmine Martin (Sicklerville, N.J.) added 10 points and four rebounds. Gillian Abshire (Washington, D.C.) turned in a stellar all-around effort with four points, six rebounds, five assists and a career-high eight steals.

The Bobcats were dominant on both ends of the floor, flirting with two NEC Tournament single-game records. Offensively, Quinnipiac collected 23 assists on the afternoon - falling just two shy of Mount St. Mary's record of 25 (Rider, 3/10/94).  On the other side of the ball, the Bobcats picked up 18 steals in the game – which was four steals shy of the record set back in 1995 by Wagner.

Similar to their last regular season meeting, Quinnipiac wasted little time and opened a double-digit lead early on in the game. The Bobcats went up by 12 points, 14-2, over the first five minutes of play - which then ballooned into a 20-point advantage with a 12-4 spurt. Guastella led the Bobcats with eight points at the strength of two, threes, lifting Quinnipiac to a 40-22 lead at the break.

After the intermission, Quinnipiac extended its lead to 27 points with a 19-10 run – and never allowed Bryant to within 19 points for the remainder of the game. The Bobcats forced 27 Bryant turnovers which resulted in 28 points on the other end. Over its last four games, Quinnipiac has outscored its opponents, 94-44, in points off turnovers – coming out to 23.5 per game.

Quinnipiac received points from five other players, including a career-best six points from Katie Carroll (Westlake, Ohio). Ellen Cannon (West Chester, Pa.) and Nikoline Ostergaard (Vedbaek, Denmark) had seven, Camryn Warner (Keene, N.H.) finished with five and Lisa Lebak (Robbinsville, N.J.) had three.

Bryant, who concludes the 2012-13 season with a 12-18 record, was led by Jenniqua Bailey with 14 points. Naana Ankoma-Mensa finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds and Danielle Douglas had 11 points.

#2 Sacred Heart 64, #7 St. Francis Brooklyn 38
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Fairfield, CT -- A stifling defensive effort by Sacred Heart lifted the Pioneers over St. Francis Brooklyn 64-38 Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 Northeast Conference Tournament.  Sophomore Gabrielle Washington (Mesa, Ariz.) led the way with 21 points, missing her first career double-double by two rebounds. With the win, Sacred Heart Head Coach Ed Swanson ties former Saint Francis U Head Coach Jenny Przekwas for the all-time Northeast Conference Tournament record of 16 wins.

The Pioneers defense forced the Terriers to turn the ball over 32, and recorded their third 20-steal performance of the season. Ericka Norman (Chino Hills, Calif.) posted five steals, while Blair Koniszewski (Vienna, Va.) had a career-high, and game-leading, six.

"I felt really good at the beginning of the game when I saw our defense all over the place, swarming the ball," said Swanson. "I think start to finish it was one of our better defensive performances of the year."

Morgan Merriman (Seattle, Wa.) and Koniszewski joined Washington in proving to be weapons on offense, adding 13 and 12 points for Sacred Heart respectively.

The Terriers opened the game with a 5-1 run, but with 15:28 on the clock, Koniszewski landed a shot from downtown kicking off an 11-0 run boosting SHU to a 12-5 lead.

Sacred Heart's stifling defense held St. Francis to just 15 points in the first half, eight points throughout the first 15 minutes, while they went on to put 31 on the board. The Pioneers forced 16 turnovers in the opening half, converting three for points on the fast break.

The teams exchanged points in the early minutes of the second half, but SHU quickly expanded their lead with a three consecutive buckets forcing St. Francis to call a timeout.

With 12:29 left in the game, Washington drained a triple to give the Pioneers their biggest lead of the game at 24 points.

The Pioneers consistently held at least a 20-point lead throughout the second half, on their way to the NEC Tournament semifinals.

St. Francis Brooklyn (11-19) received a team-high 11 points from Eilidh Simpson (Melbourne, Australia/Wesley College).

On Wednesday night, Sacred Heart will host No. 4 Saint Francis U who defeated No. 5 Central Connecticut State Sunday.  Tip-off is at 7 pm in the Pitt Center.

#6 Mount St. Mary's 59, #3 Monmouth 57 (OT)
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West Long Branch, NJ --  Ashley Christie's contested layup with eight seconds left in overtime sent sixth-seeded Mount St. Mary's to a 59-57 upset win over third-seeded Monmouth in the Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Sunday at the MAC. The playoff win for the Mount is the program's first since the 2000-01 season. The Mount will move onto the semifinals to face top-seeded Quinnipiac on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in Hamden, Conn.

The Mount (15-15) trailed by five points at 54-49 with 3:42 left in the overtime period but outscored the Hawks (15-15) 10-3 the rest of the way to come away with the win. Tied at 57-57, Tara Lonergan stole a Monmouth inbounds pass with 35 seconds to go to set up the final possession in overtime.

The Mount started off the game on a 6-2 run, fueled by a Lonergan steal that led to a layup on the other end. Lonergan had four points in the first four minutes of the game.

The Mountaineers continued their hot start by going on a 10-0 run, which saw the Mount score a layup in the lane by junior Kayla Grossett and a five-point spurt by Sydney Henderson. Henderson, who finished with a game-high 17 points, hit a three with the shot clock running down, that forced a Monmouth timeout.

Jacqueline Brewer also knocked down a three-pointer with 13:03 to go in the first half as part of the 16-2 stretch to open the game. Brewer finished with 12 points, including seven in the second half.

Three-consecutive Monmouth baskets cut the Mount's advantage to 16-8 with 6:48 to go in the opening 20 minutes. Later in the half, Selina Mann's runner in the lane gave the Mount a 12-point lead at 24-12 with 2:21 on the first-half clock. The Hawks trimmed the deficit to six in the final minute of the half before Henderson's jumper sent the Mount into halftime with a 26-18 lead.

The Mount held Monmouth to 6-for-32 shooting (18.8 percent) from the field in the first half and connected of 11 of their 30 field goal attempts (36.7 percent).

Monmouth opened the second half with an 11-4 run to cut into the Mount's lead and trailed by just one at 30-29 at the first media timeout with 15:01 remaining.

Following the break in action, the Hawks' run continued with a three-pointer from Carly Thibault to give Monmouth a 32-30 advantage with just under 15 minutes to go in regulation.

The Mount regained the lead, 39-38, on a pair of Rachel Mathews free throws at the 8:39 mark in the second half. 

The action seesawed with both teams taking turns with the lead. Henderson's jumper gave the Mount a three-point cushion at 49-46 with 2:31 remaining, but a Monmouth layup by Abigail Martin followed by Alysha Womack's free throw with 13 seconds left forced the extra period with the score deadlocked at 49-49. 

In the overtime period, the Mount forced five Monmouth turnovers, while committing zero on the other end. For the game, the Mount turned the ball over just 11 times, their second lowest total of the season.

Sara Engish came off the bench to post a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds for Monmouth, which finished the year 15-15.

Next up, the Mount will attempt to knock off top-seeded Quinnipiac on Wednesday, March 13, at 7:00 p.m. in the NEC Semifinals at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Conn. 

NOTES: Mount St. Mary's is now 18-18 all time in NEC Tournament games. The Mount improves to 2-2 all time in the NEC Tournament against Monmouth… The Mount's last NEC Tournament win was a 50-45 defeat of Sacred Heart in the semifinals in 2001. The Mountaineers improved to 2-2 in overtime games this season.

#4 Saint Francis U 66, #5 CCSU 63
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Loretto, PA --  Down by a point with under 30 seconds to play, the No. 4 Saint Francis U women's basketball team came back to take down No. 5 Central Connecticut State, 66-63, at DeGol Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Nickia Gibbs (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) poured in 20 points on a 9-14 shooting night to lead the Red Flash (16-14, 10-8). Jaclyn Babe led the Blue Devils (16-14, 10-8) with 27 points.

CCSU had a 63-62 lead until Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) made a contested lay-up with 27 seconds to play. SFU followed up with a defensive stop and Williams hit two free throws to give the Flash a three point lead for good.

“It's always tough to score against CCSU, but tonight we hit shots when we needed to,” SFU head coach Joe Haigh said. “The unselfishness and playing together down the stretch led us to the victory today.”

Saint Francis did not hold a lead in the first half and trailed by as much as 12 at the 5:28 mark. SFU went on an 8-0 over the next two minutes to get within four. Down seven, SFU managed to score four points in the final 16 seconds after a basket from Williams and a steal and lay-up from Nickia Gibbs (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt).

SFU took its first lead with just under 17 minutes to play and managed to extend that lead to four after a jumper from Gibbs. SFU took a 54-47 lead after a three-pointer from Williams.

Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, earning her 22nd double-double of the season. Rebecca Keegan (Jessup, Pa./Valley View) was one point shy of a double-double, she posted nine points and 11 rebounds. Rebecca Sparks (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) set a new career-high with 12 points.

SFU outrebounded CCSU 48-35, Shene Fleming (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) posted 14 total rebounds including seven offensive.

CCSU senior guard Jaclyn Babe (Pittsburgh, PA/Mt. Lebanon) hit 12-17 from the field and led all scorers with 27 points.

Saint Francis will travel to face No. 2 Sacred Heart at 7 p.m. on Wednesday for the Northeast Conference Semifinal match-up.

2013 Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
Presented by Ruby Tuesday

Follow the tournament live on Twitter @NECBBT

All games played at home of higher seed
Teams reseeded following quarterfinals

Click here for NEC Tournament bracket
Click here for All-Conference release
Click here for All-Conference video
Click here for NEC Tournament preview
Click here for NEC Quarterfinals video preview
Click here for 27 Things You Should Know Before Tip-off
Click here for Quarterfinal Media Notes (PDF)

Quarterfinals
Sun.	Mar. 10	#1 Quinnipiac 79, #8 Bryant 55	FINAL | Box Score | Recap
		#2 Sacred Heart 64, #7 St. Francis Brooklyn 38	FINAL | Box Score | Recap
		#6 Mount St. Mary's 59, #3 Monmouth 57 (OT)	FINAL | Box Score | Recap
		#4 Saint Francis U 66, #5 CCSU 63	FINAL | Box Score | Recap
Semifinals
Wed.	Mar. 13	#6 Mount St. Mary's at #1 Quinnipiac	7:00 pm | Watch Live | Live Stats
		#4 Saint Francis U at #2 Sacred Heart	7:00 pm | Watch Live | Live Stats
Championship
Sun.	Mar. 17	Championship Game	5:00 pm on ESPNU

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