Women's Basketball Drops 62-49 Decision To Assumption

SMC's four-game winning streak comes to an end; Greyhounds improve to 12-5

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Seth Cole - Phone: 802.654.2537

Box Score: http://www.smcathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2010-11/files/wasmstm.htm.  

Video of Pintka's 1,000-Point Pre-Game Ceremony: http://www.smcathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2010-11/photos/pintka1000_001.flv.

Senior Logan Pintka was honored prior to Saturday's game for becoming the 17th player in program history to score 1,000 career points. Pictured with Pintka are (left to right): Assistant Coach Shannon Kynoch, Logan's mother Leigh Bullock, and Head Coach Jen Niebling (photo by Tony Bonvechio).

COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Michael's College women's basketball team (8-7, 6-6 Northeast-10 Conference) saw its season-high four-game winning streak come to an end in a 62-49 loss to Assumption College in league action on Saturday at the Vincent C. Ross Sports Center.

For Assumption (12-5, 10-3 NE-10), senior Molly Griffiths (Walpole, Mass.) tallied a game-high 18 points, making 6-of-11 shots from the field. Junior Kelly Meredith (Franklin, Mass.), the league's leading scorer entering play today, added 12 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore Sabrina Siciliano (Fairfield, Conn.) recorded 12 points, nine rebounds and five steals off the bench. Sophomore Gabrielle Gibson (Amityville, N.Y.) netted 10 points off the bench before fouling out as the Greyhounds shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half to pull away for the win.

For the Purple Knights, junior Coreen Hennessy (Chatham, Mass./Fryeburg Academy) recorded a team-high 12 points, making all six of her free throw attempts. Senior Logan Pintka (Schenectady, N.Y./Colonie Central) added 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor, but the Purple Knights as a team shot just 14-of-47 from the field in the contest (30 percent) and were outrebounded 41-29.

In a matchup between two of the league's higher-scoring teams, including the top-shooting team in the conference (Assumption), neither team could get on track offensively in the first half. In fact, just eight points combined were scored in the game's opening 9:30 of play, with the score deadlocked at 4-all. The two teams warmed up somewhat for the rest of the half, particularly the Greyhounds, who ended the period on an 8-2 run to lead 23-17 at intermission. Saint Michael's finished just 5-of-21 from the field in the opening 20 minutes (24 percent), while Assumption made just 8-of-28 field goals in the first half (29 percent). The two squads also combined to commit 30 turnovers, including 16 for the hosts.

Saint Michael's came out strong to open the second half, starting the period on a 20-10 run to take a 37-33 lead with 13:34 to go following a pair of free throws from senior Marilyn Ferreira (New London, N.H./Kearsarge Regional). But the Purple Knights then went scoreless for the next 3:20, a period in which Assumption scored nine unanswered points to take the lead for good at 42-37. Saint Michael's could get no closer than four points after that, as the Greyhounds shot well down the stretch to pull away for their seventh away win of the season without a loss.

Both teams return to conference action on Tuesday, with Saint Michael's visiting American International College at 5:30 p.m, and Assumption hosting Saint Anselm College at 5:30 p.m.

-PURPLEKNIGHTS-