• The full first weekend of play this season focused on tournament action all over the region. The recap starts with a pair of milestones for one of the region’s pre-eminent coaches…
• Jefferson head coach Tom Shirley picked up his 600th win as Rams mentor with a win on Saturday over Molloy and his 750th overall win thanks to a victory against Queens during a productive weekend at the Molloy tournament… The Rams edged host Molloy, 61-56, thanks to a pair of big efforts from Jessica Kaminsky (21 points, 11-11 FT) and Caitlyn Cunningham (16 points). Jefferson trailed at the half (30-25) but used a 12-0 third period run to take the lead for good (37-33) and they held off the Lions the rest of the way. Tyra Harrison’s 18 points topped the Molloy ticket… Jefferson followed that up with a 90-62 romp over Queens with Alynna Williams (29 points; 6-8 3FG), Beverly Kum (20 points, 12 rebounds) and Kaminsky (15 points, 12 boards) driving the bus. The Rams out-shot (49%-32%) and out-rebounded (44-22) the Knights, who received solid work from Maia Fawcett (19 points). Jefferson held a modest 43-30 halftime lead but blew the game apart with a 21-3 start to the third period (76-44) on the way to a 2-0 start… Molloy did snag a win on the second day of the tourney thanks to a 69-54 success over Chestnut Hill. Harrison (25 points) and Marthe Guirand (20 rebounds) topped the stat sheet for the Lions as they pulled away thanks to a 20-3 burst in the fourth period (pushing a 46-45 lead to 66-48). Lauren Crim tossed in 20 points for the Griffins, who shot a drab 26%… Queens bested Chestnut Hill in the tourney opener, 87-77, to gain their first win. Beth Bonin’s 23-point effort was underpinned by My’eesa Grant (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Kaitlyn Mahon (16 points) for QC while Jaeda Wildgoose (20 points) paced the CHC attack. Queens established an early lead (27-6 after one quarter) and, after CHC chopped it down to 42-36 at the half, the Knights extended the span to 70-52 after three frames and held on from there.
• ECC favorites LIU Post and NYIT produced a sweep over NE10 teams Adelphi and Pace at the AU tournament… LIU Post beat Pace in the first game, 53-45, with Sasha Patterson (16 points) leading the way. The Pioneers won all four quarters by small margins (three points or less) to knock off the Setters, who were sparked by Briana Wong’s 10 points. LIU Post had the edge despite shooting 40% overall and they did it by holding Pace to just 28% at the other end… Patterson (20 points, 10 rebounds) was atop the leaderboard as the Pioneers dropped Adelphi, 85-73, but she had help from Dominique Williams (18 points, 12-12 FT) and Robyn Francis (15 points), both submitting career-high games. Emily Miccile (19 points) was the best Panther on show in a contest that featured nine players in double digits. LIU Post’s bench (39-8) was a key factor as the Pioneers flew to a 52-27 lead and kept AU in a 10+-point hole for the duration… NYIT started their season with a 64-57 decision over Adelphi as Meg Knollmeyer (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Jill Spagnuola (13 points) keyed the attack. Leonie Edringer (16 points) led the Panthers but they fell short at the line (NYIT 19-25; AU 9-18 FT) and in a late comeback attempt. An 8-1 Panther run cut the Bears lead to 50-47 in the late going but NYIT went 11-12 at the stripe in the last minute to close it out… The Bears made it two straight by dealing Pace a wire-to-wire 72-56 setback. Knollmeyer (17 points) headed the NYIT offense again as they built a 37-20 halftime bulge and kept the Setters at bay thereafter. Nya Rivera’s 12 points topped Pace’s scoring.
• The NE10 enjoyed a sweep at the Bridgeport tournament with Southern Connecticut and New Haven shutting out the host team and Post in the all-Nutmeg State festival… SCSU beat Post in the opener, 74-64, with Jessica Fressle (career-best 22 points) and Kiana Steinauer (18 points, 14 boards) doing the damage. The Owls led most of the way and held off a late Eagles run that cut a 63-44 lead to 63-53 (4:35). Gabriella Middleton (22 points) was Post’s most effective scorer… The Owls followed that up with a 73-55 win over Bridgeport with Steinauer (25 points, 19 boards) and Fressle (18 points) shining again. SCSU put the game on ice with a 13-1 third period run after UB drew to within three points (55-42). Gianna Gotti’s 18 points led the Purple Knights… New Haven kicked off their campaign with two wins for new head coach Debbie Buff, the first a 64-31 thumping of Bridgeport. Camryn DeBose (19 points) and Micah Womack (17 points) led the Chargers as they held UB to just 19% from the floor and 2-24 from three-point land. UB committed 27 turnovers and trailed all the way, including 26-11 at the break… UNH made it a sweep with a 67-46 victory over Post behind the work of Alexandria Kerr (20 points, 9 boards) and DeBose (16 points). The Chargers again constructed a big halftime lead (38-21) and kept the Eagles at arms’ length the rest of the way. Mia Crooms topped the Post stat sheet with 15 points.
• Merrimack and Bentley wrapped up an NE10 sweep over Concordia and Georgian Court in North Andover with convincing wins on Sunday… Alyssa Casey registered a career-high 31 points (and added 13 rebounds) to lead MC to a 93-62 win over Concordia. Lindsay Werner (21 points), Kate Mager (16 points) and Karlee Alves (13 points, 11 assists, 9 steals and just one turnover) joined the fun for the Warriors, who led 51-34 at the half and out-3FG’d the Clippers, 11-1. Amiya Rankins (24 points) and Cameron Corbett (14 points) managed to notch career-bests for Concordia despite the result… Victoria Lux (17 points) and Megan Lewis (16 points) led five players in double figures for Bentley as they rolled over Georgian Court, 97-63. Free throw shooting was central to this one as the Falcons made a hefty 36-47 at the stripe while the Lions were just 7-10 at the other end. Bentley won all four quarters and held a 55-34 halftime lead on the way to 2-0. Jada Atchison (23 points) had a good game for GCU while Safiyyah Lee added 13 points.
• Another NE10 sweep took place in two Manchester venues and Southern New Hampshire and St. Anselm both improved to 2-0 with wins over Dominican and Bloomfield, respectively… SNHU received solid work from Kylie Lorenzen (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Briana Camara (15 points) in their 76-62 win over Dominican but they needed a strong start to the last frame to pull away. The Penmen led 56-53 after three quarters but an 11-2 spree to start the last period (67-55, 4:39) put the Chargers comeback hopes to rest. Korina Guerra’s 22 points led a trio of DC double digit scorers… Shannon Ryan (18 points, 15 rebounds) led a quartet of double figure Hawks scorers as St. Anselm handed Bloomfield an 89-47 defeat. St. A’s had the edge in most areas, specifically off the glass (55-26) and in the paint (44-18). Caitlin Thomas (18 points) led the Bears and they were in the game at the half (36-26) only to see the Hawks start the third period on a 21-4 binge (57-30) to all but put the contest away.
• The CACC earned a sweep of their own at the University of the Sciences tournament as the home team and Goldey-Beacom picked up wins over Franklin Pierce and AIC to finish off 2-0 starts… Sciences had to rally to grab a 56-48 win over stubborn FPU and they did so via a 12-0 fourth period burst after falling behind, 43-41. The surge, which made it a 53-43 Devils lead with 1:15 left, was well-timed and left the Ravens no time to recover. Irisa Ye (15 points) Colleen Walsh and Alex Thomas (13 points each) shared the load for Sciences, which made more three-pointers (9-4) than the Ravens. Izzy Lipinski (10 points) was key to FPU’s rally from a 27-13 halftime deficit but in the end the guests fell short… Goldey-Beacom prevailed in a tight one over AIC, 67-62, to make it 2-0. Sarah Round (26 points, 5-6 3FG) was terrific for the Lightning and her basket with 1:14 left put GBC ahead for good (58-57) Amanda McGrogan (19 points) followed that with three foul shots at the :45 mark and the Lightning managed the game from there. Dana Watts (25 points, 16 rebounds) and Alyssa Guyon (18 points) supplied the bulk of the scoring for the Yellow Jackets, who didn’t get to the line as often as GBC (GBC 25-30; AIC 14-20 FT) and let a 48-42 advantage after three periods go in this one.
• The College of Saint Rose proved to be the big winner at the Roberts Wesleyan tournament, nipping the host team, 58-57, in the final game to go 2-0 (and consign RWC to an 0-2 start). Nina Fedullo’s free throw with four ticks left was the difference in a game with 10 ties and 13 lead changes (and without a lead of more than eight points either way). Karissa Birthwright (14 points) and Zoe McDonald (14 boards) had good games for the Golden Knights while hard-luck Roberts Wesleyan was paced by Emily Miller (23 points) and Taylor Bynoe (17 points). Bynoe tied the game with two foul shots at 57 just before Fedullo’s winning toss; Miller missed at the horn to deny the Redhawks the win… Daemen beat Assumption in the other game to ensure both teams went home with 1-1 marks. Caroline White and Tiara Filbert popped in 15 points each to lead the Wildcats while Morgan O’Donnell’s 11 points led the Greyhounds. Daemen won all four periods here (27-17 at the interval) and handily out-shot AC, 52%-28%, to win going away.
• St. Thomas Aquinas went 2-0 at their tournament thanks to a 64-53 comeback win over St. Michael’s. Ruth Adams (18 points) and Emily Preston (14 points, 7-8 FG) were at the helm for the Spartans as they rallied from a 42-37 deficit after three periods to take a 55-43 lead after a blazing 18-1 to start the last quarter. Emily Ferreri’s 13 points led the way for the Purple Knights, who never recovered from the killer STAC run… Mercy picked up their first win for new head coach Scott Lagas in the other game, defeating Nyack, 82-71. Amber Brown (22 points, 12 boards) and Destinee Hall (15 points) fueled the Maverick attack, more than balancing off good games from Warriors Elie Nittinger (22 points) and Yamalis Vargas (15 points). A 15-0 first half run helped Mercy gain a 35-27 halftime lead, and though Nyack fought back, they held firm to post the victory.
• Stonehill went 2-0 at the Wilmington tournament, besting Holy Family in the quasi-title game, 63-44. Kayla Raymond (22 points, 8 rebounds) did the heavy lifting for the Skyhawks, who shot 54% overall and collected 13 more rebounds (35-22). Jada Smith (12 points) was the pick of the lot for the Tigers, who fell behind for good after an 11-0 Stonehill first half run. HFU crept within a point (34-33) in the third period but a 20-2 bomb that spanned the last two frames put Stonehill in a comfort zone (54-34) and confirmed the victory… The University of the District of Columbia picked up their first win, handing an 81-59 defeat to host Wilmington. Natasha Roy (18 points) led a trio of double figure scorers for the Firebirds while Macy Robinson (23 points) led the way for the Wildcats. UDC dominated in the paint (50-12) and off the bench (30-14) and used a strong third period (including a14-2 run) to blow open a close game at the half.