Southern New Hampshire University

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Gordon - 18 points (6-11 FG, 6-6 FT), 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
• Winterburn - 16 points (7-12 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 1-2 FT), 8 rebounds
• Graduate student Stephanie Davis (Windham, N.H.) – 14 points (4-8 FG, 6-9 FT), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
• Freshman Samantha Pfeil (Methuen, Mass.) - 10 points (3-4 FG, 1-1 3-FG, 3-3 FT), 4 rebounds

KEY MOMENTS   

• Gordon connected on a jump shot with 6:32 to play in the first quarter to give the Penmen an early 6-2 lead, but the Purple Knights responded with a 10-2 run for a 12-8 lead.
• Winterburn hit a three-pointer as the first quarter ended to give SNHU an 18-16 lead.
• Gordon hit a jumper to start the second quarter as SNHU again led by four at 20-16.  
• There would be five lead changes in the second period, and the Purple Knights took a 31-30 lead to the locker room.
• The third quarter also saw five lead changes, with the Penmen taking a 49-46 lead after three quarters when Davis hit a driving layup and free throw.
• Pfiel hit a lay-up to start the fourth quarter and give SNHU a 51-46 lead, the biggest lead for either team to that point in the contest.
• Winterburn hit two lay-ups around a three-pointer by Brianna Furch for Saint Michael's, and SNHU led 59-55 halfway through the fourth quarter.
• Wager drilled a jumper to extend the lead to 61-55 and DeVries connected on two free throws to maintain the six-point lead with 2:54 remaining.
• Two Davis free throws gave the Penmen a 65-57 lead at 1:40, and Saint Michael's could not get closer than four points down the stretch.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Senior Sydnie DeVries (Monson, Mass.) gathered six points (1-5 FG, 4-6 FT), seven rebounds and three assists.
• Sophomore Abby Wager (Mansfield, Mass.) added four points (2-8 FG), 2 rebounds, and 1 assist
• Sophomore Madison Hughes (Columbia, Conn.) had two points, two rebounds and an assist
• Freshman Taylor Brennan (Southbury, Conn.) pulled down three boards and added a helper.
• Southern New Hampshire shot 46.2 percent (24-52) to Saint Michael's 39.4 percent (26-66).
• The Penmen hit on 20-of-27 free throws (74.1%) while the Purple Knights were 0-4.   
• Beyond the arc, Saint Michael's went 11-for-32 (34.4%) compared to just 2-for-8 (25.0%) for SNHU.
• The Penmen had a wide 41-29 rebounding advantage and an edge on points in the paint 28-26 and second chance points 16-12.
• SNHU turned the ball over 15 times leading to 15 points for Saint Michael's.  The Purple Knights committed seven turnovers for 10 Penmen points.
• Saint Michael's submitted a more impressive assist-to-turnover ratio (17/9-11/15).

NOTES

• SNHU, the No. 9 seed, will play in the Northeast-10 Quarterfinals for the fifth consecutive season.
• The Penmen will meet top-seed Bentley, ranked third in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Coaches Poll.  The Falcons concluded the regular season with a 23rd consecutive win on Tuesday night over the Penmen and the win streak is the longest in the nation in DII.
• Saint Michael's leads the all-time series with the Penmen 32-28.  The Penmen had won nine consecutive games with the Purple Knights before falling in Colchester in the regular season on January 22.
• This was the first post-season meeting between the SNHU women and Saint Michael's since 1991 when the Penmen won 80-68 on the way to the ECAC Tournament Championship.
• SNHU snapped a four-game losing streak and improves to 72-41 (.637) since the 2021-22 season started.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The ninth-seeded Penmen travel to top-seeded Bentley University on Sunday (March 2) at 1:30 p.m. for an NE10 Championship quarterfinal contest.