Seahawks end season with quarterfinal defeat against Pride

(Courtesy of Springfield athletic communications)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Wednesday, February 21, 2024) -- The Springfield College women's basketball team had six student-athletes score in double figures as it advanced past Salve Regina University, 89-43, in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship Quarterfinals on Wednesday evening in Blake Arena.

Springfield, which was receiving votes in this week's D3hoops.com and WBCA Division III National Polls, improved to 22-4 as the top-seeded Pride will host fifth-seeded Babson on Friday night in the conference semifinals. Salve Regina had its first season in the conference come to a close with a 10-16 record.

Claire Finney (Haverhill, Mass.) led all players with a career-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) notched her fifth-straight double double with 14 points and 10 boards. Jaelen Daubon (Hyde Park, N.Y.) contributed 12 points, Natalie Lucas (Madison, Conn.) and Amanda Leary (Westbury, N.Y.) each tallied 11 points, and Carrie Hess (Shrewsbury, Mass.) chipped in 10 points. Springfield outscored the visitors by a 50-16 margin in the paint and finished the evening shooting 37-for-66 (56%).

For Salve Regina, Sofia Neary (Wayne, N.J.) tallied a 12-point, 10-rebound double double and Briana Neary (Wayne, N.J.) added 11 points. The younger Neary finished the season with double-doubles in half of her games played (13 of 26). The Seawhawks had 13 offensive rebounds that resulted in 10 second-chance points as they finished the game shooting 13-for-54 (24%).

Finney delivered a tremendous three-point play at the 5:57 mark of the opening quarter to give Springfield its first lead of the game at 7-4. With the score knotted at 10-10, Springfield closed out the frame on a 11-2 push as Leary drilled a jump up triple in the final seconds. A three-point play by Leary four minutes into the second quarter capped off a 9-0 run as Springfield's cushion grew to 30-12. Springfield would lead 39-21 at the break as the duo of Finney and Leary combined for 23 points to outscore the Seahawks themselves.

Leading 47-27 with 6:20 remaining in the third, Springfield manufactured a 16-3 run over the next five minutes to put the game away, with Finney and Lucas each accounting for six points. Springfield would pour in a game-high 26 points in the stanza, getting eight from Daubon.

In the fourth, Springfield would shoot 73% from the floor, with Hess connecting on all five of her field goal attempts to lead the way. Kassidy Carrano (West Haven, Conn.) put the exclamation point with an acrobatic finish inside inside the final minute to make it a 46-point game as the Pride advanced to the conference semifinals.

Salve Regina graduate student Morgan Shuey (Corning, Iowa) played the 100th and final game of her collegiate career and finishes with 843 points and 391 assists, the latter representing the fourth-most all-time in program history.

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Salve Regina returns to the hardwood in November 2024.