Feb. 26, 2011
Saint Michael’s, selected to finish 15th in the Northeast-10 regular season last October, is arguably the surprise team of the Conference this season. The UMass Lowell women’s basketball team hopes to have a few surprises of its own when they meet on Sunday.
UMass Lowell (9-17, 8-14 in the NE-10), who received the No. 10 seed by virtue of a 10th-place finish in the regular season, visits No. 7 Saint Michael’s College Sunday at 1:00 in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament first round at the Ross Sports Center.
Admission for the game is $7 for adults and $4 for children (under 12) and senior citizens. Students with valid identification will be admitted for $1. The game is slated to be webcast via Saint Michael’s athletics website, www.smcathletics.com. The winner between UMass Lowell and Saint Michael’s visits Franklin Pierce Tuesday night at 7:00.
Saint Michael’s (15-10 overall, 13-9 NE-10) swept the regular season series with UMass Lowell, winning 80-64 in Lowell on Nov. 17 and 73-61 on Feb. 8 in Colchester, Vt. In fact, the Purple Knights have had the run of play recently, winning seven of the last nine meetings.
UMass Lowell looks to end a three-game slide, extended Wednesday in a 68-59 loss to Franklin Pierce, which earned the No. 2 seed. Previously, the River Hawks suffered a 57-50 loss to Saint Anselm last Saturday, which followed a 64-43 loss at No. 1 Bentley Feb. 16.
Saint Michael’s enters the Tournament winner of five straight, including the final three away from home: at Saint Anselm (56-50) Wednesday, at Merrimack (59-52) and at Southern New Hampshire (47-36) previously.
“Saint Michael’s is a talented team that can attack you in many ways,” said UML Head Coach Kathy O’Neil, a 1981 alumnae of the College. “They can shoot the three well and their posts can score in a variety of ways. They have an experienced team and they are playing with a great deal of poise.”
The Purple Knights are led by senior F Logan Pintka, with averages of 13.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game; and sophomore F Nicole Adach who has added 10.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
UMass Lowell has been led by sophomore G Bianca Simmons (Middletown, Conn.) with 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Junior F Sha’Nay Bushner (Akron, Ohio) has also been a force this season with 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
“We have to play with intensity and we must execute defensively,” said O’Neil. “We also must handle the ball with sureness.”
