Box Score NEW HAVEN – Second-seed and host Southern Connecticut State rallied from a 45-39 deficit with 6:22 remaining to hand The College of Saint Rose a 64-60 overtime defeat in a
Northeast-10 Conference Tournament quarterfinal game this afternoon at the James A. Moore Fieldhouse. The seventh-seed Golden Knights shot an uncharacteristic 59.3 percent (16-for-27) from the free throw line, nearly 17 points below their 76.7 percentage entering the game, and were outrebounded 58-49 that helped the Owls offset their 2-for-26 shooting effort from the arc.
Southern Connecticut State will now host third seed Pace in a semifinal encounter this Thursday, March 1 at 7:00 pm. The Setters advanced with a 60-50 triumph against visiting sixth-seed Assumption.
Senior forward
Ali Johnson scored 13 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, one short of her season-high, and freshman guard
Gabie Polce tossed in 12 points to pace the Golden Knights (18-10) offensively today. Senior guards
Ashley Rath and
Ola Shajuyigbe added 11 apiece.
Meanwhile, senior guard Sylvonia Moore led a Southern Connecticut State (22-4) contingent that also had four players in twin-figures scoring. Moore filled up the box score with 19 points, nine boards and five assists. Junior Camille Fantini had 14 points to go with nine rebounds as well, along with five steals; while sophomore center Moni Smith-Ocran finished with a “double-double” behind 12 points and 16 boards. Senior guard Lauren Allen pitched in with 10 points.
Despite the Owls late surge, it was still anybody's ballgame when Rath was fouled after coming up with a steal with 25 seconds remaining in regulation and Saint Rose trailing by one, 52-51. She made the first and missed the second that afforded Southern Connecticut State one last chance. However, the host team could not convert a pair of looks and thus overtime ensued.
The Golden Knights then went cold throughout the final five minutes that allowed Southern Connecticut State to assume control. Saint Rose was limited to just one field goal until Rath converted a layup with 13 seconds left and Polce buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Meanwhile, Southern Connecticut State shot 50.0 percent (4-for-8) from the floor and drained all four of its free throw attempts throughout the final five minutes.
The Golden Knights built leads on three occasions during the game, but each time the Owls answered. Polce finished a layup to make it 15-7 Saint Rose with 10:03 left in the first half. However, Southern Connecticut State rattled off nine unanswered points to grab a 16-15 advantage. The Golden Knights eventually walked into the locker room with a one point, 22-21, cushion at intermission that grew to eight points, 39-31, midway through the second stanza after Johnson went 1-for-2 from the stripe. The Owls subsequently scored seven straight points to cut their deficit to 39-38.
Saint Rose then extended its lead back to six, 45-39, following a Johnson free throw, but Southern Connection State scored 13 of the period's final 20 points and then retained that momentum in the overtime session to run its win streak to six games and set up Thursday's date with Pace. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights probably have only an outside chance at an NCAA Tournament bid at this juncture. Those berths are scheduled to be announced next Sunday.
