#1 St. Francis (PA) 69, #4 Quinnipiac 62
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Staten Island, NY -- Tonjee Ward (Creedmoor, NC/Port Jervis (NJ)) scored 24 points and keyed the decisive run early in the second half as top-seeded St. Francis (PA) posted its 19th straight victory, 69-62 over fourth-seeded Quinnipiac in the Northeast Conference Tournament semifinals at the Spiro Sports Center.
St. Francis (PA) will host the NEC final for the third straight season, facing the winner of today’s second semifinal between No. 2 seed Sacred Heart and third-seeded Monmouth. The final will take place Saturday in Loretto, PA at 2:00 pm and will be televised on Fox Sports-NY.
Ward, who also finished with seven rebounds and two blocks, went on a tear after intermission. She scored nine points during a 13-2 run over 5 ½ minutes that gave the Red Flash (24-5) a 45-36 cushion with 13:05 remaining. St. Francis’ lead later ballooned to 12 points and Quinnipiac (18-11) could get no closer than the final.
"I knew they would double Beth (Swink) a lot. I had to just knock down my shots," said Ward, the NEC’s Defensive Player of the Year each of the last two seasons.
"We did not go to cruise control, but we took control," said Karen Hewitt (Cincinnati, OH/Cincinnati Hills).
NEC Player of the Year Beth Swink (Connellsville, PA/Connellsville) netted 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds for the Red Flash. The two-time All-NEC honoree at center averaged 20.7 points in three games this season against Quinnipiac, all won by St. Francis (PA).
"I always bring my A-game when I play against Ashlee (Kelly)," Swink said. "I look forward to playing her because of the good competition."
"We are happy this one is over," Red Flash coach Jill Poe said. "We knew it would be a wild game with a lot of pushing and shoving, very physical. It would come down to who would outlast who."
Christin Black (Fairmont, WV/Fairmont) had nine points and seven rebounds with Hewitt adding eight and five for the Red Flash, who shot 41 percent (11-of-27) in the second half and only committed eight turnovers overall.
Ashlee Kelly (Pittsburgh, PA/Mount Lebanon) did all she could for the Bobcats with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 26 rebounds for her 11th straight double-double. The two-time first team All-NEC selection was coming off totaling 38 points and and an NEC record 28 rebounds in Quinnipiac’s double-overtime quarterfinal victory Friday over Fairleigh Dickinson. She currently has the top-three single-game rebounding performances in the nation this season.
"Rebounding is all about heart and desire," said Kelly, who has the three highest rebounding totals in the NCAA this season in addition to grabbing 24 against Harvard on January 13. "To go up and get it, you have to really want it."
Kelly finished with five 20+ rebounding efforts and 22 double-doubles this season (56 in her career).
"She’s been the best rebounder I’ve seen at any level, even Shaquille (O’Neal) and (Dennis) Rodman," Quinnipiac coach Trisha Sacca-Fabbri said. "She has a desire, passion, willingness and effort to get every ball."
Sara Esidore (Portland, CT/Portland) scored 15 points for the Bobcats, who shot 35 percent (24-of-68) from the floor and just 6-of-21 from 3-point range. Esidore averaged 26.5 ppg in the regular-season meetings with the Red Flash.
St. Francis (PA), which went 18-0 in league play, will be looking to become the third NEC team to win the conference tournament after sweeping the regular season. Monmouth was the first in 1987 and Mount St. Mary’s turned the trick in 1994.
The Red Flash closed the first half on a 12-6 run to take a 32-29 lead. Ward scored five points during that stretch, including a 3-pointer in the waning seconds, and finished the half with 12 points.