Hounds Topple Penmen in 74-51 Final

Hounds Topple Penmen in 74-51 Final

Manchester, N.H. (February 25) -- On Tuesday night at the SNHU Fieldhouse, the Assumption College women's basketball team ran its winning streak to five straight with a 74-51 road victory over Southern New Hampshire University in the 2013-2014 regular-season finale. Assumption is ranked No. 10 in the NCAA East Region rankings, as announced by the Regional Advisory Committee.

Assumption finishes as the No. 3 seed in the league's Northeast Division and will travel to Southwest Division No. 2 seed New Haven for a quarterfinal game on Sunday, March 2nd at 2 p.m. at Charger Gym.

SNHU took an early 5-4 lead just 3:42 in on a free throw line jumper from junior Brooke Springfield. The Hounds answered though with a three-pointer from freshman Kelly Carey (Long Beach, N.Y./Holy Trinity), who finished the first half with a team-high eight points. Carey put the Hounds up by a 10-7 margin with 13:41 on the clock and the visitors pushed the edge out to five at 16-11 after a pair of Carey free throws just moments later.

The Penmen answered though with a 9-4 run to tie the game at 18-18 with 6:01 left in the opening half as sophomore Erin Doherty sparked the hosts with seven points in the scoring spurt. Over the next 4:35 though, Assumption held SNHU scoreless and put together an 8-0 run of its own to seize the 26-18 edge with 2:21 left. A pair of free throws from junior Caitlin Ackerman (Nashua, N.H./Nashua South) capped the run, which was started by a pair of layups from freshman Johanna Impellizeri (Seaford, N.Y./St. Anthony's). The Hounds eventually took a 29-23 lead into the halftime break as the visitors shot just 32 percent in the period, compared to 45 percent for the Penmen. Assumption did hold an 18-16 rebounding edge, including 11-5 on the offensive glass, while forcing 15 Southern New Hampshire turnovers in the opening 20 minutes that the Hounds converted into 16 points.

In the opening 1:32 of the second, five quick points from senior Tafanie Roye (New Britain, Conn./Capital Magnet Prep) extended the Assumption lead into double digits for the first time at 35-23 with 18:28 on the clock. Continuing to lead by 12 at 37-25, the Hounds withstood an 8-0 Penmen run that included six points from Doherty to pull the Penmen within 37-33 with 14:24 on the clock. The run swung back the other way though as an 8-0 Hounds scoring spurt, capped by four points from senior Shannon Ray (Yonkers, N.Y./Ursuline Academy), made it a 45-33 margin and forced an SNHU timeout.

The run eventually stretched to 11-0 after another Ray lead before a Doherty free throw with 11:20 left made it a 48-34 game in favor of the Hounds. Defensively, Assumption held the Penmen without a field goal over a span of 5:36 to boost an 18-1 run and push the lead up to 21 at 55-34 after three straight points from sophomore Kelly Conley (Ellington, Conn./Ellington). Assumption led by as many as 26 points at 68-42 on another three from Carey before coming away with the eventual 23-point victory.

Carey led the Hounds with a career-high 17 points as she knocked down 5-of-7 three-point attempts. Roye added 16 points, along with 11 points and a team-high six rebounds from Ackerman. Assumption shot 43 percent from the field for the game while outscoring the Penmen by a 30-12 margin from three-point land and holding a slight 38-36 rebounding advantage.

Defensively, the Hounds held SNHU to 36 percent shooting from the field for the game and forced 20 Penmen turnovers. Doherty led the Penmen with 19 points and nine rebounds, along with 10 points from Springfield.

With the win, the Hounds finish the regular season at 17-9 overall and 13-8 in the Northeast-10, while the Penmen finish the season 7-19 overall and 5-16 in the league.

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