Providence, R.I.—Freshman forward Angelina Nardolillo (Hinsdale, N.H.) powered No. 1-seeded Rhode Island College past No. 4-seeded Southern Maine, 59-37, in the semifinals of the 2022 Little East Women's Basketball Championship at The Murray Center on Thursday evening.
 
THE BASICS
No. 1 Rhode Island College 59, No. 4 Southern Maine 37
Rhode Island College (22-5)
Southern Maine (9-16)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• RIC exploded out of the gates, scoring 24 points in the first quarter, while holding the Huskies to just six. The quarter was capped off by a buzzer-beating layup off of a steal by sophomore guard Ashanti Frazier (Newington, Conn.).
 
• RIC would take a 23-point, 37-14, lead into halftime, thanks to a second straight quarter- ending buzzer beater, this time by Nardolillo.
 
• The hosts would struggle to score in the second half, scoring just eight points in the third quarter, six of which came from junior guard Jeniyah Jones (Randolph, Mass.).The Anchorwomen would go into the fourth quarter up by 18 points, 45-27.
 
• Thanks to the big advantage RIC built up in the first quarter, the Huskies comeback fell flat, as the closest they would get was 14 points after a freshman Maria Degifico (South Portland, Maine) layup made the score, 47-33.
 
• Nardolillo racked a game-high 17 points, all of which came in the first half. She also added eight rebounds.
 
• Jones had another stellar performance, netting 13 points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
• USM graduate student guard Jackie Luckhardt (Londonderry, N.H.) closed out her college career with a team-high nine points.
 
 WHAT'S NEXT
In upcoming action, No. 1-seeded Rhode Island College will host No. 3-seeded UMass Dartmouth in the finals of the 2022 Little East Women's Basketball Championship at The Murray Center on Saturday, Feb. 26 (Noon). This will be the third straight LEC Championship finals appearance for the program and fifth overall.