Bob Heller’s Philly WBB Small College Report: USciences Turned Aside By Stonehill in Bid For D-2 NCAA Elite Eight

By Bob Heller (@Bob_Heller1)

 

 Senior Sarah Abbonizio tied her career high with 27 points but the University of the Sciences women’s basketball team’s elite season came to an end Monday night at the Division II East Region Championship as Stonehill College pulled out a 71-61 win in front of a packed house at Merkert Gymnasium on Stonehill’s campus in Easton Massachusetts. 

 

The Devils complete their season with a 30-4 record.  The team’s 30 wins are a program record.  Stonehill will advance to the Elite 8 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and improve to 29-3.

 

“We lost to a really good team tonight,” said Head Coach Jackie Hartzell.  “It was a really tough environment to play in.  We fought to the end and to get to this point, I’m proud of all our players and coaches.”

 

Abbonizio connected on 9-18 shots from the field and 8-10 from the free throw line to equal her career high.  The senior guard finishes her career with 1,299 points to rank eighth on the Devils all-time list.  

Abbonizio along with fellow seniors, Colleen Walsh, Laura Trisch, Molly Greenberg and Haley Helms conclude their careers with a four-year record of 88-36 (.709), the most wins by a single class in program history.

 

Irisa Ye and Alex Thomas added 11 points apiece.  Abbonizio led the team with six rebounds while Thomas,  Walsh and Trisch had five boards apiece.  Walsh led the team with three assists.

 

Kelly Martin led Stonehill with 18 points while Grace Carter turned in a career night with 15 points (5-5 FG, 4-4 3FG).  Elizabeth Grip also chipped in 13 points to pace the Skyhawk offense.

 

It was the Skyhawk defense however that proved to be a key in the win for Stonehill as their perimeter defense limited the Devils to just four three-point field goals, well below their average of ten per game.  The Devils shot just 4-18 from beyond the arc (22.2%) for the game with Abbonizio shooting an uncharacteristic 1-7 from deep on the night.  

 

Offensively the Skyhawks came out on fire shooting 59.1% (13-22) in the first two quarters while limited USciences to just a 10-30 (33.3%) shooting effort, allowing Stonehill to build a nine point advantage at halftime 35-26.

 

Following a back and forth first quarter, the Skyhawks opened the second quarter with a 6-2 spurt to take an eight point lead 22-14.  The Devils came right back to tie the score at 24-24 with a 10-2 run.  Carter then sank two straight three-balls, triggering an 11-2 flourish to close out the quarter.

 

Samantha Hyslip scored the first points of the third quarter to give Stonehill their first double-digit advantage of the game.  Again USciences came back, outscoring the Skyhawks, 16-7 over the rest of the period to pull within two 44-42 at the end of three quarters.  Abbonizio (7 points) and Thomas (4 points) produced 11 of the Devils 16 points in the quarter.

 

“We were trying to be positive the whole game, “said Abbonizio.  “We knew the shots were going to fall eventually and towards the end of the third quarter that started happening.”

 

The Devils still trailed by two in the fourth quarter when an 11-4 run by the Skyhawks gave the host team a 59-50 lead with 4:18 remaining prompting a USciences timeout.  The Devils closed within seven on two occasions but could get no closer the rest of the way as Stonehill made 10-of-12 free throws over the final three minutes to seal the win.

 

“We kept playing hard, ‘adds Abbonizio.  “Some of the shots didn’t go our way and a lot of shots went their way.  They played really well tonight.  Not much you can do when you’re not shooting too great and they’re shooting lights out.”

 

Abbonizio and Walsh also finished their careers tied for third on the Devils’ all-time three-point field goals list, each making 167 over the course of their careers.  Thomas, a junior, also has 167 career three-point field goals.  Jordan Vitelli, a sophomore finished the season with a school record 76 three-pointers.

 

“I’m really proud of the way we have worked to put our school on the map,” commented Trisch. “The way we were able to turn the direction of our team around and make these last two years so successful, I’m just so proud of everyone – so proud of all the underclassmen that they’ve had this experience and they can do so much more with it. It was the best four years of my life and I know we lost but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

 

“They’ve (the senior class) have been amazing,” adds Hartzell.  “They put us on the map.  Its been all about the team from day one and that’s definitely allowed us to be successful.  And any success our program, our team has moving forward is because of this senior class.”