NEWPORT, R.I. – The Salve Regina women's basketball team raced out to an 11-0 lead in the first 3:40 of play en route to a 74-52 victory over Eastern Nazarene in the opening round of the 2013 Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament.
Salve Regina wasted little time off the opening tip as sophomore Brianna Del Valle (Belchertown, Mass.) sent the ball to senior Kaitlyn Birrell (Hope, R.I.) to feed to junior Melissa Pendergast (Medfred, Mass.) who laid it in for the opening bucket just six seconds into play. The Seahawks kept up the momentum as they scored on three of their next four possessions before Del Valle capped the 11-0 run at 16:25 as she hit a jumper off a steal.
Freshman Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.) pushed the hosts' lead to 13-0 with her first bucket of the game at 13:47. Eastern Nazarene got on the board with 13:16 showing on the clock as junior Presley Neufeld (Seattle, Wash.) hit the front end of a trip to the free throw line after drawing a foul.
The Lions would pull to within seven with 9:52 to play in the first half behind a 10-5 run, highlighted by senior Ace Carradine (Honolulu, Hawaii) with five points, including a three to kick off the run. Seven points would be as close as Eastern Nazarene would get to Salve Regina, however, as the Seahawks led by as many as 17 in the opening frame.
With 16 ticks left before halftime, freshman Christina Saint-Pierre (Lantana, Fla.) hit a pair of free throws to cut into the Seahawks lead and send the teams into the locker rooms with the score at 34-20, in favor of Salve Regina.
The Seahawks opened the second half just as the opened the first with a bucket in their very first possession as sophomore Laura Anne Dinan (Monterey, Mass.)took a pass from Birrell to put Salve Regina up 36-20 just 19 seconds in.
Junior Abbie Tonello (Bourne, Mass.) hit the backend of a trip to the freethrow line at 18:29 to cut the Salve Regina lead to 41-23, but the 18-point difference would be as close as the game would come.
Over the next 10 minutes of action, the Seahawks lead by as many as 32 points twice as Dinan scored eight of her 10 points over that span. Del Valle hit a jumper with 8:34 to play to give Salve Regina its final 32-point lead at 64-32.
The Lions clawed their way back over the next 4:40 with a 15-2 spurt to pull within 19, 66-47, as Neufeld converted a layup at 3:54 but the clock was not on their side. Harden laid it in at 2:41 to kick off a 8-5 run to close of the game in favor of Salve Regina at 74-52.
Birrell paced all players with 20 points while Dinan posted her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Del Valle led the game with 14 boards. Green poured in a team-high 12 points for the Lions while freshman Kyrstal Holl (Hagerstown, Md.) pulled down seven rebounds.
Eastern Nazarene closes out its season with a 11-15 overall record and a 6-12 CCC slate. Salve Regina improves to 16-10 on the year and finished conference play at 12-6. The Seahawks move on to face #2 Roger Williams on Thursday, Feb. 21 in the semifinals. Roger Williams defeated Curry, 76-48, to earn its spot in the semis.