Tigers Advance to CACC Semifinals With 60-44 Victory Over Bloomfield

BOX SCORE


Philadelphia, Pa. - The top-seeded Holy Family University women's basketball team will be returning to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) semifinals for the fourth straight season after defeating fourth-seeded Bloomfield College, 60-44, in the quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at the Campus Center Gym. 
 
Holy Family, ranked sixth in the recent USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division II National Top-25 Coaches' Poll and fifth in the East Region poll, improves to 25-2 overall.  The win marked the Tigers' 13th straight victory, the longest this season.  Bloomfield concludes its season at 12-15. 
 
Holy Family had four players score in double-figures, including seniors Erin Mann (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) and Molly Hanlon (Narberth, Pa./Lower Merion) who both scored a game-high 14 points.  Mann also tallied a career-high 17 rebounds to go along with her 14 points to record her 11th double-double of the season.  She also blocked three shots on the defensive end.
 
Hanlon's 14-point performance tied her season-high as she shot 6-of-11 from the field.  Hanlon scored the team's first seven points of the game.  She also dished out three assists and recorded four steals. 
 
Junior Mary Ellen McCollum (Abington, Pa./St. Basil Academy) came away with 11 points, while senior Ana Cruz (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) contributed 10 points after shooting 4-of-7 from the field.  Cruz also knocked down a pair of three-pointers. 
 
For Bloomfield, freshman Ariel Wilson scored a team-high nine points to lead the Deacons' offense.  Fellow classmate Nahja Carter and junior Ivettlis Castro each finished with eight points. Sophomore Tierra Scott grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. 
 
Both teams struggled from the field in the first half with neither team shooting better than 30-percent from the field.  The Tigers converted 10-of-33 of their shots, while Bloomfield only knocked down 6-of-24. 
 
Despite the struggles, Holy Family managed to hold on to a nine-point lead past the midway point of the half.  After trailing 7-4, Holy Family used a 12-0 run to lead 16-7 after Hanlon scored a layup at the 8:03 mark. 
 
As the half progressed, the Tigers maintained the lead and took a 24-17 advantage into the locker rooms at halftime. 
 
In the second half, the Holy Family offense began heating up as the Tigers used a 24-11 spurt to increase its lead to 20 points at the 7:56 mark.  A pair of free throws by McCollum gave the Tigers a 48-28 advantage.
 
Holy Family shot 44.0-percet from the field in the second half and also converted 13-of-16 from the free throw line on its way to outscoring Bloomfield, 36-27, in the half.  The Deacons shot slightly better in the second half (10-31) at 32.3-percent, but struggled at the free throw line only converting 5-of-14 in the half and 10-of-23 for the game.
 
Holy Family led by as many as 26 points in the victory after junior Carolyne Heston (Feasterville, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) scored a layup with 2:55 to play in regulation to make the score 57-31. 
 
Holy Family is back in action on Friday, March 8 as the Tigers face the North Division's second-seeded Dominican College Chargers in the CACC Semifinals hosted by the University of the Sciences.  Game time is slated for 12 p.m.   The Chargers defeated third-seeded USciences, 61-49, in their quarterfinal contest. 
 

  - HFU -