No. 2 QU women tip off NEC tourney Saturday

No. 2 QU women tip off NEC tourney Saturday

By Kyle Brennan and Mike Auletta, QBSN Staff Writers

It’s March. Therefore, there’s madness. Now, it’s the women’s turn to get involved as the Northeast Conference tournament tips off with four quarterfinals on Saturday. Semifinals will be played Tuesday before next Sunday’s championship.

No. 2 Quinnipiac vs. No. 7 Mount St. Mary’s, 2 p.m.

The No. 2 Quinnipiac Bobcats (21-8, 13-5 NEC) will play host to the No.7 Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (14-15, 10-8 NEC) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Hamden, Conn.

The Bobcats come into the game on a two-game losing streak, tied for their longest of the season. Prior to that streak, the Bobcats were winners of 11 out of 12 NEC contests. Redshirt junior Felicia Barron leads the team in scoring with 17.1 points per game and leads the nation in steals with 4.4 steals per game. Barron is 11 points away from 1,000 career points for Quinnipiac.

The Bobcats lead the NEC in scoring with 68.9 points per game and in rebounding with 42.4 boards per game. Sophomore Brittany McQuain leads Quinnipiac in rebounds with 9.4 boards per game and ranks fourth in the conference in the category. Freshman Jasmine Martin, named to the NEC All-Rookie team, averages 10.9 points per game for the Bobcats. Quinnipiac has 10 different players that see significant time on the court.

The Mountaineers have won six of their last seven conference games heading into Saturday’s quarterfinal. The team is led in scoring by junior Sydney Henderson, who averages 17.1 points per game. The Mount is also led by All-NEC second team selection Selena Mann, who averages six points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, 139 total assists and ranks third in the nation in steals per game.

In 23 seasons, the Mount has appeared in the NEC Tournament a total 21 times and have a postseason record of 17 -17 while winning three conference championships.

This is the second meeting between the two teams this year. Earlier this season, the teams squared off in Hamden and the game turned out in the Bobcats’ favor 89-73. The Bobcats had six players score in double figures and recorded their second best shooting percentage of the season (58.2 percent). Mount St. Mary’s had two players score more than 20 points each in the game.

The key to the game for both teams will be ball control. Quinnipiac’s Felicia Barron and Mount St. Mary’s Selena Mann are among the best in the nation in taking the ball away and both teams have struggled recently with turnover ratio.

No. 3 Monmouth vs. No. 6 Long Island, 4 p.m.

The No. 3 Monmouth Hawks (17-12, 12-6 NEC) will host the No. 6 Long Island Blackbirds (21-9, 10-8 NEC) on Saturday at 4 p.m. in West Long Branch, N.J.

The Hawks come into the game winning four of their last five contests. All-NEC second team junior guard Alysha Womack leads the team with 15.3 points per game. Junior Abby Martin contributes 10.4 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game for the Hawks.

The Blackbirds are led by All-NEC first team selection Ashley Palmer, the senior is the NEC leader in points per game with 19.2. Palmer also averages 7.8 rebounds per game for the team. Junior Ebony Davis adds 9.8 points per game and senior Kiara Evans 7.6 points per game.

Monmouth won both regular season meetings between the two teams, both games were decided by 10 points or less. The key to the game is Ashley Palmer. If Palmer gets it going for the Hawks early, the Blackbirds will be in for a long day. If LIU can limit Palmer’s opportunities, they will have a chance to win the game.

No. 1 Sacred Heart vs. No. 8 Fairleigh Dickinson, 1 p.m.

The No. 1 Sacred Heart Pioneers (22-7, 15-3 NEC) will welcome the No. 8 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (13-17, 8-10 NEC) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Fairfield, Conn.

Sacred Heart won the NEC regular-season championship, holding off Quinnipiac thanks to the Bobcats’ losing their final two games of the regular slate. The Pioneers have lost only four games in 2012, thanks in part to their conference-best defense (57.2 ppg allowed), scoring margin (+8.1 ppg), field goal percentage (.412), and free throw percentage (.761).

The Knights stumble into the league tournament, having lost four of their last five games, including their last three at home. Fairleigh Dickinson lost a home contest to Sacred Heart, 62-47, in the teams’ only meeting of the season. In that game, the Pioneers’ Callan Taylor racked up 27 points and 10 rebounds.

It would be a major upset if Sacred Heart goes down in the tournament opener, as the Pioneers will host their tourney games as long as they last. But Sacred Heart has laid a few eggs at inopportune times this season—including a 71-34 thrashing at the hands of Quinnipiac in Fairfield two months ago—so nothing is out of the question.

No. 4 Robert Morris vs. No. 5 St. Francis (PA), 5 p.m.

The No. 4 Robert Morris Colonials (17-12, 11-7 NEC) will host the No. 5 St. Francis (PA) Red Flash (14-15, 11-7 NEC) on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Moon Township, Pa.

Both teams have a fair amount of momentum heading into the tournament. Robert Morris won five in a row before losing to Sacred Heart by four points in overtime in the regular-season finale, while St. Francis won three of its last four, including a 77-71 win over Quinnipiac on Monday.

This has the potential to be the tightest game of the weekend, but the paper story tells a different story. Robert Morris outranks St. Francis in nearly every major statistical category in the conference and has one of the league’s best players in Artemis Spanou (17.0 ppg, 11.0 ppg). In addition, the Colonials beat the Red Flash by 12 points in both of their regular-season meetings during NEC’s rivalry week.

If St. Francis can’t contain Spanou inside the paint with players like Alli Williams, the Red Flash will struggle and Robert Morris will advance to a likely date with Sacred Heart on the semifinals.

Quarterfinals Predictions

Sacred Heart over Fairleigh Dickinson

Quinnipiac over Mount St. Mary’s

Monmouth over Long Island

Robert Morris over St. Francis (PA)

Semifinals Predictions

Robert Morris over Sacred Heart

Quinnipiac over Monmouth

Championship Prediction

Quinnipiac over Robert Morris