#3 MOUNT ST. MARY'S (15-12, 11-7 NEC) VS. #7 BRYANT (10-21, 6-12 NEC)
NORTHEAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 13
th | 12 p.m.
Emmitsburg, Md. | Knott Arena
GAME NOTES |
ESPNU |
LIVE STATS
EMMITSBURG, Md. (March 12, 2022) – For the second consecutive year, Mount St. Mary's women's basketball hosts the Northeast Conference Championship. Looking to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, the Mount challenges Bryant in the conference's ultimate game.
THE MATCHUP
Victories over the Bulldogs in both matchups today bumped the Mount into the lead for all-time series advantage, 14-13. Both games were taken with the same score by the Mountaineers, 68-52.
All previous signs point to a close contest. Across 17 games played, four have been decided in overtime.
MOUNTAINEER REPORT
Mount St. Mary's got hot at the right time, hitting their longest winning streak of the season at five with the semifinal win over #4 seed Wagner. In a thrilling 62-50 triumph, a passionate crowd cheered the Mount on as they withheld a Seahawk comeback until
Isabella Hunt tallied a dagger three in the final minute.
Sunday marks the ninth time the Mount has earned the right to play in the NEC Championship, having gone 4-4 in the past eight. Wins came in 1993, '94, '95 and last season, with the most recent defeat coming in 2001. A victory here makes five NEC titles for the Mountaineers, and their fourth trip to the Big Dance.
Kendall Bresee fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards but became the 29
th player in school history to score 1,000 for the Mount. She joins senior
Michaela Harrison on that list, with both players achieving the feat in three seasons. Harrison led all scorers in the Wagner game with 19 points.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Slotted in as the seventh of nine teams at the tournament's beginning, Bryant pulled off two upsets, defeating #2 St. Francis Brooklyn in the quarterfinals and #1 Fairleigh Dickinson in the semifinals. They are the second #7 seed to advance to the final (2003, UMBC) and are eyeing their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. This is also Bryant's second opportunity at an NEC title, making the game as a #4 seed in 2016, losing to Robert Morris.
Paced by NEC All-Second Team Brooke Bjelko, the Bulldogs average 56.9 points per game. Defense allows three points more than the Mount on average but hold an 8-3 record when keeping the competition below 60. Along with Bjelko's 13.7 points a contest, Fatou Jallow (11.6) and Mariona Planes Fortuny (10.0) post double figures for Bryant.
An upper echelon rebounding squad, Bryant grabs 36.5 boards on average, led by Bjelko at 7.2. Planes Fortuny and Nicole Gallagher also average plus-five a game.
LOOKING AHEAD
Opponents for NCAA's are determined during the NCAA Selection Show, running 8-9 p.m. ET on ESPN and 9-10 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
