Skyhawks earn sole possession of first place with 77-66 victory.
EASTON -- In one of the biggest women's college basketball games of this season, No.18 Stonehill College survived a fourth-quarter blitz by the visitors to defeat No. 3 Bentley University, 77-66, on Wednesday night in front of a full house at Merkert Gym.
Kelly Martin, the former Scituate High star and Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic, led the way for the Skyhawks with a game-high 19 points (seven assists, only one turnover), while Stonehill used a swarming defense that caused 18 Bentley turnovers and limited the Falcons to a below-average 39 percent (23 of 59) from the field.
The Skyhawks received important contributions from Sam Hyslip (15 points), Courtney Walsh (11) and Grace Carter (10).
Gabrielle Reuter was huge off the bench with 12 points.
The win gave the Skyhawks, now 14-1 in the league (18-2 overall) a leg up in the battle for the top spot in the Northeast-10 Conference while Bentley fell to 13-2 (19-2 overall).
Something had to give in this clash between two elite Division 2 programs as Stonehill had not lost a home game (9-0) while Bentley had an unblemished mark (10-0) on the road.
It was clear from the opening tip that Martin and the Skyhawks were on a mission to take control of the game on both ends of the court.
Martin drove to the hoop for two quick buckets, and after the senior captain drilled a deep 3-pointe,r Stonehill had a 10-4 lead at the 5:45 mark of the first quarter.
The Falcons responded with a 14-0 run, however, courtesy of some fine offensive post play off the bench by Monica Viapiano, to retake the lead 20-12 with 2:30 left in the opening quarter.
Stonehill responded with a run of its own, capped off by a pretty Martin-to-Hyslip slip screen feed and free throw to end the quarter with the lead, 21-20.
"I thought Elizabeth Grip and Sam Hyslip did a nice job on Bentley's Victoria Lux in the paint," said Stonehill coach Trisha Brown. "That was a key for us."
The second quarter was all Stonehill as the Skyhawks, under Martin's direction and with a smothering trapping defense, extended the lead to 43-32 at the half.
The Falcons couldn't buy a basket in the third quarter, shooting only 28.6 percent from the field and not making any 3-pointers in the quarter.
Stonehill ended the quarter on a 12-4 run, with Walsh contributing a dagger 3-pointer and Taylor Wornum (Randolph/Archbishop Williams) coming off the bench to hit two straight layups.
"We had trouble finding Stonehill players near the basket," said Bentley's Hall of Fame coach, Barbara Stevens, who recently became only the seventh coach in college basketball to reach 1,000 career wins. "Offensively, we just didn't make any shots and in big games like this you need to make shots."
Stonehill was on the verge of breaking the game wide open when Grip and Hyslip combined to give the Skyhawks their biggest lead of the night, 51-33, with 756 left in the third quarter.
But the Falcons got a huge lift off the bench from Trevenna Bennett and Macchi Smith to close the gap to 58-48 at the end of the third quarter.
The final quarter appeared to be all Stonehill as Martin pulled up and nailed a deep 3-pointer while Reuter (12 points off bench) kissed one off the glass to extend the lead to 69-54 with 530 left.
But Bentley failed to wilt as Victoria Lux found her touch in the paint to close the score to 69-64 at the two-minute mark. Momentum appeared to suddenly sway to the Falcons' side.
With the partisan crowd on its feet and the game on the line, Stonehill countered with a hard drive to the hoop by Grace Carter, and after another Falcons turnover, Reuter's uncontested layup gave the Skyhawks a commanding lead, 73-66 , with 28 seconds remaining in regulation.
Martin's and Reuter's free throws sealed the 77-66 win for Stonehill over its archrivals.
"I was really pleased with how our team battled back in the final quarter," said Stevens. "We were one possession away, but give credit to Stonehill. They did a nice job defensively and they have a great player and leader in Kelly Martin."
Brown felt this was her squad's best performance of the season.
"Bentley is so talented, and in this environment we had to guard against being too hyped," said the Skyhawks' coach. "I liked our patience. It was a classic Bentley-Stonehill rivalry game in a great environment."
Martin, who certainly played like the front-runner for NE-10 Player of the Year and perhaps All-America honors, was thrilled with win.
"We really wanted this one," said the senior, who was sidelined last year with an injury. "This was all about senior leadership."