Catherine O'Connell, Newbury

Final	1	2	T
Mitchell (8-17, 7-11 NECC)	32	27	59
Newbury (16-10, 13-5 NECC)	36	53	89
Hellenic College; Brookline, Mass.

Mitchell	Newbury
Pts: Hannah Smith - 18	Pts: Katie Haney - 20
Reb: Sheanna James - 12	Reb: Catherine O'Connell - 18
Ast: Sheanna James - 3	Ast: Shayla White - 8

Team Statistics	Mitchell	Newbury
Field Goal %	25.3% (23-91 )	48.7% (38-78 )
Rebounds	50	71
Assists	6	24
Turnovers	16	21
Pts off Turnovers	17	12
2nd Chance Pts	15	23
Pts in the Paint	24	44
Fastbreak Pts	0	0
Bench Pts	0	17

full stats

The third seeded Newbury College Nighthawks defeated the sixth seeded Mitchell College Mariners, 89-59, in the first round of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship Tournament, Tuesday evening. The dynamic defensive duo of junior center Catherine O'Connell (Quincy, Mass.) and sophomore forward Katie Haney (Winchendon, Mass.) paved the road to the NECC Semifinals for the Nighthawks.

Mitchell jumped out in front early and forced Newbury to play catch-up. First year guard Hannah Smith (Wakefield, R.I.) was red-hot from the outside in the first half, draining 12 of her team-high 18 points from beyond the arc. Midway through the half, Smith knocked down a jumper to give the Mariners their largest lead of the game but the Nighthawks were resilient and battled their way back.

First year guard Nephie Marsh (Brockton, Mass.) picked the pocket of Smith with under eight minutes to play in the half and took it back down court for the fast-break lay-up, giving Newbury their first lead, 24-23, since  53 seconds into the game. However, the lead did not last for very long.

The Mariners re-gained the lead nearly a minute later, taking advantage of a Nighthawk miscue. First year guard Sheanna James (Waterbury, Conn.) connected with Smith for a jumper at 6:32 to put Mitchell back on top by one, 25-24.

Down by one, Haney stepped up her game, snagging an offensive board away from the waiting hands of defenders and then laying it back up for the put-back while drawing the foul in the process. The second year forward from Winchendon, Mass. knocked down her free throw to complete the traditional three point play and  put the Nighthawks up by two, 27-25, and sparked a mini 5-0 run.

Mitchell was not going away quietly as they cut a seven point deficit down to a manageable two. First year guard Zilka Navarro (Waterbury, Conn.) knocked down a lay-up but failed to convert the three-point play after getting fouled by Newbury senior guard Morganna Machado (Attleboro, Mass.).

On their next possession, Mariner senior guard Bianca Young (Bridgeport, Conn.) connected with Smith for her fourth trey of the half which cut the Nighthawk deficit to two. However, Machado atoned for her foul, knocking down a jumper with 18 seconds remaining in the half to send Newbury into halftime with the four-point, 36-32, lead.

When the teams emerged from the locker room, the Nighthawks opened the second half with an 11-1 run and never looked back.  After Navarro broke up the run netting a lay-up five minutes into the period, O'Connell slammed the door on the Mariners with an emphatic block on a Navarro lay-up attempt 19 seconds later.

Throughout the entire first half, Mitchell contained the Nighthawks' leading scorer and the nation's leading rebounder but the second half was a different story. O'Connell went off in the second as she registered her 20^th double-double of the season netting 14 points while pulling down 18 boards. Haney led six Nighthawks in double figures draining 20 points.

Smith led Mitchell with a team-high 18 points while Navarro followed up with 15 points of her own. James rounded out the trio of Mariners in double digits, recording a double-double, tallying 11 points and 12 boards.

The victory sends Newbury to the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Semifinals where they will meet second seed Elms College Friday night, February 24^th at 8:00 p.m. in Weston, Mass. The Mariners season ends at 8-17.