Box Score
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Senior forward Jill Ritrosky (Pittsfield, MA) celebrated her second tournament double-double of points and rebounds with another double-double by scoring her 1,000th career point and being named tournament MVP when the Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team won its own 36th annual tip-off tournament Sunday afternoon with a 70-49 victory over Bridgewater State University at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
In its 32nd championship game appearance, Eastern (2-0) won its 19th title, which was its second straight and 13th in the last 19 seasons. The Warriors reached the final with an 86-48 first-round win over Nichols College Saturday, while Bridgewater (1-1) survived a back-and-forth first-round game with Regis College (MA) in a 60-56 victory Saturday.
Needing ten points to become the 16th player in program history with 1,000 points, Ritrosky scored six in the first quarter on two inside buckets and two free throws, then moved within two points with another inside basket with 7:35 left in the second quarter. After getting fouled on a baseline drive, Ritrosky sank two free throws with 5:19 left in the second quarter for No. 1,000.
Ritrosky finished the game with 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds after totaling 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds Saturday.
The Warriors never trailed Sunday, taking a 12-point, 29-17 lead at halftime before pushing it to 27, 50-23, with 3:07 left in the third quarter. Trailing by 19 points, 53-34, after three quarters, the Bears showed life in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, using an opening 12-5 run to whittle the deficit to 12, 58-46, with six minutes left. The teams traded a flurry of three-point field goals in those opening minutes, with junior forward Chanelle Melton contributing four points in that run.
Down by 14, 62-48, with five minutes left, Bridgewater was held without a field goal and to only one free three the rest of the way, missing five shots and turning the ball over three times on its final nine possessions.
At left: Tournament MVP and newly-minted 1,000-point scorer Jill Ritrosky accepts the MVP award from Director of Athletics Lori Runksmeier after leading the Warriors to their 19th tip-off title.
Eastern junior guard Jordyn Nappi (Southington) rebounded from 2-of-12 shooting against Nichols to lead all players with 29 points. Twenty of her points came in the second half on 7-of-12 marksmanship. She also grabbed five rebounds and handed out three assists.
Bridgewater freshman guard Sara DaSilva, a non-factor in ten minutes off the bench Saturday against Regis in her collegiate debut, responded with a team-high 16 points in 31 minutes off the bench against Eastern. She was 7-of-13 from the floor with six rebounds and did not commit a turnover. The team's leading scorer (16 points) against Regis, Melton followed DaSilva with 15 points Sunday.
Ritrosky was joined on the all-tournament team by Nappi and junior post player Lexis Foster (Groton) of Eastern, Melton of Bridgewater, sophomore forward Brittany Stone (West Bridgewater, MA) of Regis and junior guard Taylor Daniels (Dudley, MA) of Nichols.
In two tournament games, Ritrosky had 32 points and 23 rebounds on 12-of-16 shooting from the floor; Nappi had 37 points and nine rebounds and Foster 25 points and 19 rebounds (career-highs of 19 points and ten rebounds against Nichols). The trio combined to sink 26 of 33 free throws in the tournament.
Melton led Bridgewater in the tournament with 31 points, five steals and six rebounds; Stone had 23 points and a team-high 29 rebounds in two games for Regis; Daniels paced the Bison with 28 points and six rebounds.
Consolation Game
Regis College 60, Nichols College 42
Regis never trailed and blew out to a 25-point, 38-13 halftime lead, but Nichols limited the Pride to 22 second-half points and more than doubled its first-half point total over the final 20 minutes. The final 18-point margin was the closest that the Bison would get in the second half.
Regis led by only four points with just over two minutes left in the first quarter, but the Bison went scoreless the rest of the quarter and through the first two minutes of the second as Regis took command with a run of eight straight points to move out to a 12-point, 19-7 lead. Both of Regis' field goals in that spurt came from three-point range and were authored by freshman guard Maura Russell and sophomore guard Brandi Bonneau. Stone closed the run with a pair of free throw after being fouled rebounding a missed Nichols shot.
Stone, who had ten points and 14 rebounds Saturday against Bridgewater, led both teams with 13 points and 15 rebounds, with four blocked shots. Bonneau contributed 11 points and junior guard Mikayla Murphy ten points and seven rebounds. Daniels was Nichols' lone double-digit scorer, finishing with 11 points, with freshman forward Kristina Domantas grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds.
