THE BASICS
Score: Becker College 82, Dean College 74
Records: Becker College (12-14), Dean College (6-20)
Location: Alumni Gymnasium, Leicester, Mass.
Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Time: 7:00 PM

THE LEAD:
Fourth-seeded Becker College used a 28-point third quarter to pull away from a hard-fighting Dean College squad and post an 82-74 win over the fifth-seeded Bulldogs in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's basketball action on Tuesday evening.

The Hawks, who won the league title two years ago and played in the championship game a year ago, advance to a semifinal showdown with top-seeded Eastern Nazarene on Thursday in Quincy.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Dean had the lead on several occasions in the first half, including when Taisha Alexandre (Quincy, Mass.) beat the first quarter buzzer with a layup that gave the Bulldogs a 16-15 edge.

Things were back and forth in the second stanza and it seemed as if Dean would go into the locker room with a lead after a pair of free throws from Makayla Rudder (Springfield, Mass.), but Jazlyn Contreras scored as time expired to give the Hawks a 35-34 halftime advantage.

Things changed dramatically in the third period when Becker outscored Dean by 16 as the Bulldogs committed eight turnovers and shot just 33 percent. Cassidy Harrison was the difference for the Hawks as she scored 15 of her team-best 27 points in the period, connecting on a trio of three-pointers that blew the game open.

Undeterred, Dean scrapped their way back into the game in the fourth quarter when a Sitaara Muhammad (Cambridge, Mass.) layup along with a pair of scores from Rudder had the Bulldogs closing in, but when Riley Berry made a pair from the charity stripe with less than 20 seconds to go, the Becker lead was safe.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
Rudder finished with a game-high 32 points and 15 rebounds, while Alexah Potter (East Hartford, Conn.) ended with 20 points and nine rebounds. Muhammad, meanwhile, collected nine points, seven rebounds, eight assists and five steals.