STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Timberlake – 22 points (8-13 FG, 4-5 3-FG, 2-3 FT) – 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
• Junior Julia Colby (S. Paris, Maine) – 16 points (5-12 FG, 2-6 3-FG, 4-5 FT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists
• Junior Jess Knight – 14 points (6-11 FG, 2-2 FT) – 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals

KEY MOMENTS

• Southern New Hampshire trailed by two with under three-and-a-half minutes left in the opening quarter when five points from Timberlake powered a 7-0 run that put it into the lead at 11-6 with 1:32 to go. The Penmen would lead, 11-9, after one.
• With the scored tied, 11-11, just over 30 seconds into the second quarter, a 16-2 blitz – led by seven points from NE10 Player of the Year Timberlake – opened a 27-13 advantage for SNHU with 3:46 to go before the break. The Penmen would bring a 33-18 lead to the break.
• A Colby 3-pointer at the 8:13 mark of the third quarter finished off a 5-0 spurt that gave Southern New Hampshire its largest lead of the night at 38-20, but a 10-2 counter-run from Assumption slashed its deficit to 40-30 with 3:50 remaining. The gap was nine (43-34) going to the final frame.
• The Greyhounds opened the fourth quarter with two straight buckets that made it a five-point game at 43-38 less than a minute-and-a-half in. A Timberlake three-point play and a Colby triple took some pressure off and extended the Penmen lead to 52-41 just past the midway point of the stanza.
• The lead was still 11 with a little over a minute-and-a-half to play when Assumption scored 13 of the next 19 over the ensuing minute to pull within 64-60 with 30 ticks to go. A layup from freshman Meghan Gordon (Attleboro, Mass.) made it a six-point game, while Timberlake followed an Assumption miss with one of two at the line to make it a three-possession game with 12 seconds on the clock.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Senior Ariana Koivisto (Pomfret, Conn.) stuffed the stat sheet with six points (1-5 FG, 1-2 3-FG, 3-4 FT), seven rebounds, two assists, three blocks and three steals.
• Gordon posted six points (3-9 FG) and three rebounds.
• Sophomore Sydnie DeVries (Monson, Mass.) recorded three points (1-2 FG, 1-2 FT), eight boards and two assists.
• Senior Jenna Roche (Braintree, Mass.) chipped in four rebounds and three assists.
• SNHU outshot Assumption, 40.7 percent (24-59) to 34.8 percent (23-66), including 43.8 percent (7-16) to 34.8 percent (8-23) from beyond the arc. The Penmen were also better from the line, 75 percent (12-16) to 50 percent (6-12).
• The Penmen captured the paint (28-24), while the Greyhounds scored more points off turnovers (19-15) and second chance points (14-10), received more scoring from their bench (11-9) and turned in a better assist-to-turnover ratio (16/13-13/15). Rebounding (41-41) and fast break points (8-8) were even.

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire, playing in its first NE10 Championship semifinal in program history, has now won seven of its last eight, including three straight. It is one win shy of matching the program record of 22 victories, set in 1989-90.
• The Penmen improve to 6-10 (.375) all-time in the NE10 Championship, including 1-0 in the semifinal round and 1-1 versus Assumption. They have won three of their last five NE10 postseason contests.
• SNHU reaches the NE10 title game for the first time and will play host to fourth-seeded Bentley University on Sunday (March 5) at 1:30 p.m. at the Stan Spirou Field House. The Penmen are 0-2 all-time in the NE10 postseason against Bentley, which swept the regular-season series this year with a 63-51 road victory on Nov. 22 and a 60-48 home win on Feb. 1.
• Assumption still leads the all-time series with SNHU, 36-21, and has captured seven of the last 10 meetings, though the Penmen have now won three of four. The Greyhounds had won eight of nine at home against the Penmen prior to the loss, though SNHU has now been victorious in two of the last three.
• The two teams split the regular-season series, as the Penmen handed the then-11-0 Greyhounds their first loss of the season, 58-49, back on Dec. 31 in Manchester, before suffering a 63-51 defeat at Laska on Feb. 18.
• SNHU is now 42-13 (.764) since the start of the 2021-22 season, including 22-6 (.786) away from home.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The third-seeded Penmen will play host to fourth-seeded Bentley University in the NE10 Championship Game on Sunday (March 5) at 1:30 p.m. at the Stan Spirou Field House.