Box Score
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Senior
Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) notched her ninth double-double of the season and took over the top spot on the career scoring list – in terms of games played in a Smith College basketball uniform – as the fourth-ranked Pioneers advanced to the 2014 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Women's Basketball Championship semifinals with a 75-67 win over fifth-seeded Rivier on Wednesday night inside Ainsworth Gym.
The Pioneers (17-11) will face eight-seeded Brandeis on Saturday at Endicott, in Beverly, Mass., at a time to be determined. Rivier ends the 2013-14 campaign with a 20-8 ledger.
Drummond, who tied Phoebe Jacob '93 with 1,441 career points at the end of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) finals on Sunday, used a layup with 18:21 left in the first half to stand alone at the top of the list. She went on to amass 23 points and 13 rebounds while junior
Paulina Solis (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) followed with 21 points and four steals. Senior
Sydney Parkmond (Waterbury, Conn./Chase Collegiate) added 11 points as first-year
Jade Chihara (Laihana, Hawaii/Laihanaluna) pitched in with five helpers.
Junior Deanna Purcell and senior Ryan Baker each poured in 16 points and rookie Savanna Butterfield tacked on 12 for the Raiders. Senior AJ Guidi pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds.
Drummond opened the game with a personal 6-2 run as Smith held the four-point advantage nearly five minutes in. Purcell capped a 6-2 run by the Raiders with back-to-back buckets to even the game at 8-all with 13:53 left in the opening frame. Solis converted an old fashioned three-point play to give the Pioneers the 11-8 advantage 1:15 later. A jumper by rookie Caitlyn Perry evened the game for the final time (13-13) with 10:32 left in the stanza. Parkmond then ignited a 10-0 Pioneer outburst with a layup at 10:07. Senior Erin Sweeney halted the run with a triple with 5:43 to go before the break to cut the deficit to seven (23-16). Smith pushed the lead back into double digits and held a 10-point cushion (37-27) at the half.
The Pioneers had as much as a 14-point lead with 6:10 left tin the game. Rivier chipped away and eventually was within five points with just over a minute to play. Solis and first-year
Mandy Castro (San Diego, Calif./Poway) combined for five free throws to increase the hosts lead back to 10 before Baker hit a late layup for the 75-67 final.
Smith held a commanding 54-38 advantage in rebounds and a 19-9 bulge in made free throws.
