WALTHAM, MA – The College of Saint Rose women's basketball team overcame an extended first half drought, but Assumption College proved its mettle to pull away from the Golden Knights 74-64 in a first round game of the 2011 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament tonight at the Dana Center on the campus of Bentley University. It marked the third time this season the Greyhounds defeated Saint Rose.

Assumption (22-7) thus advances to the semifinals of the East Region where it will take on top-seed Bentley University (26-4) at 2:30 pm Sunday. The Falcons moved on behind a 75-67 triumph over eighth-seed C.W. Post earlier this evening.

Four players reached double-figures in scoring for the 10th time this year for the Golden Knights (21-8). Junior forward Ali Johnson led the way with 13 points. Senior guard Lynsey Timbrouck and junior guard Ola Shajuyigbe each added 11, while senior forward Amy Voelkel collected a “double-double” on the strength of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Gabrielle Gibson poured in 28 points for the Greyhounds, who also had a balanced attack that featured four players in twin-figures.

The Golden Knights jumped out to a 17-11 lead in the opening seven minutes. Timbrouck knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing. Johnson then completed an old fashioned three-point play to seize the control.

Assumption roared back with a 21-2 run over the next eight minutes and kept the pressure on. Gibson's layup at the 5:18 mark gave the Greyhounds a 32-19 lead to slow the College's momentum. Assumption shot 64.0 percent (16-for-25) in the first half to take a 38-25 lead at the break. Gibson had 15 points at halftime.

“I think we came out of the gates pretty well,” said head coach Karen Haag, who was on the sidelines for her fourth NCAA Tournament within the past six years. “But we got frazzled and just gave it back to them too many times. The second half I was so proud of our effort and our fight. There's not an ounce of quit in this team.”

The Golden Knights made just 33.3 percent (10-for-30) of their opportunities in the opening frame. Saint Rose also suffered a prolonged drought after converting just three field goals over the final 13:16 following its initial six-point advantage.

The Greyhounds maintained at least a double-digit margin until the midway point of the second stanza. First-team All-Conference guard Ashley Rath was not in action after suffering an injury in the first half. However, the Golden Knights generated a 16-3 run of their own to make things interesting. Shajuyigbe went 1-for-2 from the stripe and suddenly Saint Rose drew to within one, 56-55, with 7:12 on the clock.

It was still a two point ballgame when Johnson converted a feed from Voelkel with 2:49 to go. Gibson then provided the final dagger with a layup and then her fourth 3-pointer of the night gave Assumption a 69-62 cushion. The Greyhounds then went 5-for-7 from the line in the waning moments and the Golden Knights came up empty on four of their last five possessions in the contest.

“I think there are many teams that would have just folded over,” said Haag. “I think the fact that these kids didn't says a lot about their character, how much they care about each other and how much they love the game.”

Timbrouck and Voelkel concluded their standout playing careers in a Saint Rose uniform. Timbrouck, who added nine assists to her stat line tonight, is the only player in school history to record more than 200 helpers in a single season (205). She is also the school's all-time leader in that category with 594. Meanwhile, Voelkel stands eighth all-time with 767 career rebounds and is seventh in blocks (92).

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