Women's Basketball Looks To End Regular Season On Winning Note Tuesday Evening As 18th-Ranked Skyhawks Face Tough Road Challenge At Assumption In Northeast-10 Finale

February 20, 2006

2005-2006 Stonehill College Women's Basketball

5:30 p.m. EST

THE GAME: Stonehill closes out its regular season slate looking to end a two-game slide this evening as the 18th-ranked Skyhawks square off with the Assumption Greyhounds in a Northeast-10 Conference match-up. Stonehill, ranked second in NCAA Northeast Regional circles, enters tonight's action after dropping a tough 71-70 Northeast-10 decision to 25th-ranked American International last Saturday afternoon at Butova Gymnasium in Springfield, Mass., as junior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) led a trio of Skyhawks in double figures with 15 points and eight rebounds. Junior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y./Trinity Catholic) added 14 points and five boards for Stonehill, which also received 11 points and eight caroms from junior Tiffany Huggins (Stoughton, Mass./Brockton). Junior Kim Morast (Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) chipped in with nine points for the Skyhawks, who also received seven points from senior co-captain Bethany Roderigue (Winslow, Maine/Winslow), seven boards from freshman Kelsey Simonds (Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) and nine assists and seven caroms from sophomore Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine/Mount Ararat), as the visitors succumbed in the final minute of play after erasing a 10-point second half deficit. Assumption enters tonight's action seeking its fifth straight victory, as the Greyhounds posted a 64-49 Northeast-10 triumph over Merrimack last Saturday afternoon here at Laska Gymnasium.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: Stonehill can finish no lower than third in the final Northeast-10 regular season standings, as the Skyhawks have already earned a bye into the conference quarterfinals next Tuesday evening (February 28th). Stonehill can earn the #2 seed in the conference playoffs with a win over Assumption tonight coupled with an American International loss to Bentley, and the Skyhawks can also earn the #2 seed if they lose to Assumption, American International loses to Bentley and Pace defeats Saint Anselm, as Stonehill wins a three-way "mini-conference" tie-breaker in that scenario. The Skyhawks would be the #3 seed in the conference tournament if American International defeats Bentley, as a win over Assumption would not factor into that tie-breaker.

HONOR ROLL HONOREE: Junior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y./Trinity Catholic) earned a spot on the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll on Monday for her efforts in a pair of Stonehill contests last week. Collins averaged 18 points, 5.5 rebounds and two steals on the week, including 22 points, six boards and three steals in a 72-55 setback to Southern New Hampshire to go with 14 points and five caroms in the 71-70 setback at 25th-ranked American International.

LAST MEETING: Stonehill and Assumption last met on January 10th at Merkert Gymnasium, and the Skyhawks posted a 61-58 victory over the Greyhounds. Alisha Collins netted 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the come-from-behind triumph for the Skyhawks, who also received 11 points and seven assists from Erika Stupinski as well as nine points from Kim Morast.

THE SERIES: Stonehill and Assumption are meeting for the 55th time this evening, and the Skyhawks hold a 40-14 edge over the Greyhounds in the all-time series between the two schools.

THE SKYHAWKS: Collins leads Stonehill and the Northeast-10 in scoring at 18.2 ppg while adding 6.2 rpg, while Simonds follows at 10.8 ppg and a team-best 7.3 caroms per contest. Kennedy is next at 9.9 ppg while adding 6.0 rpg, while Stupinski adds 8.8 ppg and a league-leading 5.9 apg. Morast follows at 8.6 ppg to date for the Skyhawks.

THE GREYHOUNDS: Sophomore Charde Floyd leads Assumption in both scoring and rebounding at 12.1 ppg and 10 caroms per contest, while senior Kerry Milhaven follows at 9.0 ppg for the Greyhounds, who also receive 8.7 ppg from sophomore Megan Urban.

HEAD COACH TRISHA BROWN: Trisha Brown is in her fifth season as Head Women's Basketball Coach at Stonehill College. A 1987 graduate of Harvard, Brown is just the third head coach in the 35-year history of varsity women's basketball at Stonehill, as she has posted a 93-49 (.655) mark during her tenure and led the Skyhawks to back-to-back NCAA appearances in 2003 and 2004. Brown, who helped lead Harvard to one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history when the Crimson knocked off top-seeded Stanford in the 1998 NCAA Division I first round, is assisted by Kelly Thompson (Springfield '02) and former Skyhawk standout Kaitlyn O'Malley (Stonehill '04). Brown, who collected her 75th career victory in Stonehill's triumph over Adelphi on November 19th, is 3-6 during her career against Assumption.

HEAD COACH KERRY PHAYRE: Kerry Phayre is in her 10th season as Head Women's Basketball Coach at Assumption College. A 1983 graduate of Providence, Phayre has compiled an overall mark of 161-120 (.573) during her tenure with the Greyhounds, and she is assisted by Sue Cahill and Mike Roux. Phayre is 10-9 during her career against Stonehill.

POLL POSITION: Stonehill is once again the only school to have both its women's and men's basketball squads ranked in their respective Division II national polls, as the Skyhawk men checked back into the NABC Top 25 at the number #25 position in last week's poll. The Stonehill women have been ranked as high as ninth this season, while the men's team has been rated as high as 10th.

TWENTY-TWENTY VISION: Stonehill reached the 20-win plateau for the third time in four years under Head Coach Trisha Brown and for the 18th time overall with the February 4th triumph at Saint Rose. The Skyhawks have won 20 or more games on 10 occasions since 1991, including a school-record 30 victories during the 1994-95 campaign. Former Stonehill mentor Kelly Hart recorded a pair of 20-win seasons prior to Brown's arrival, as Skyhawk Director of Athletics Paula Sullivan won 20 or more games on 13 occasions during her 25-year tenure as head coach.

THIRTY-FIVE IN A ROW, LOOK AT EM GO: With the January 10th triumph over Assumption, Stonehill has now posted 35 straight winning campaigns, a streak that dates back to the program's inception in 1971. The Skyhawks recorded 25 of those winning seasons during current Director of Athletics Paula Sullivan's tenure as head coach, and former Stonehill mentor Kelly Hart carried that streak to 30 seasons before Trisha Brown took over in 2001.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE, DOUBLE YOUR FUN: The December 19th win over Saginaw Valley State enabled Stonehill to reach the double-digit plateau in the victory column for the 29th straight season. The Skyhawks reached the 10-win mark before the turn of the New Year for the first time since December 1994.

AND THEY'RE OFF: To the best start in the 35-year history of Stonehill women's basketball, as the Skyhawks' 18-0 mark out of the gate surpassed the 1971-72 squad's 14-0 mark set during the inaugural varsity year in program history.

NATIONAL RANK AND FILE: Stonehill was ranked 18th in last week's USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II national poll released last Tuesday afternoon, as the Skyhawks have been rated in the top 25 in each of the last eight weeks. Stonehill has been rated as high as ninth in the WBCA poll, cracking the top 10 for the first time in 11 years on January 24th. Here is the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II Top 25 as of February 14th:

RankInstitution (First Place Votes)Last Week's RankRecordPoints

1.Washburn University (Kan.) - (23)124-0647

2.University of North Dakota - (3)227-0627

3.Drury University (Mo.)422-1586

4.Saint Cloud State University (Minn.)522-2558

5.Emporia State University (Kan.)321-2535

6.Glenville State College (W.Va.)722-1499

7.University Of Charleston (W.Va.)622-2495

8.Western Washington University821-1472

9.Rollins College (Fla.)922-0445

10.Delta State University (Miss.)1021-1420

11.Henderson State University (Ark.)1121-3361

12.Florida Gulf Coast University1323-1327

13.Grand Valley State University (Mich.)1420-3323

14.California State University - Bakersfield1219-2321

15.Fort Valley State University (Ga.)1622-1292

16.California State University - Chico1718-3245

17.West Texas A&M University1920-3207

18.Stonehill College (Mass.)1521-3196

19.Southern Conn. St. University2221-3167

20.Wayne State College (Neb.)2321-2148

21.Northern Kentucky University2420-3118

22.Clayton State University (Ga.)1819-4114

23.Shaw University (N.C.)NR20-455

24.University Of California-San Diego 2116-452

25.American International College (Mass.)2019-543

Dropped Out: Lake Superior State University (Mich.)

Others Receiving Votes: Regis University (Colo.) - 26; Anderson College (S.C.) - 25; Seattle Pacific University (Wash.) - 24; Wheeling Jesuit University (W.Va.) - 23; Wingate University (N.C.) - 21; Holy Family University (Penn.) - 19; North Georgia College & State University - 14; North Carolina Central University - 11; Presbyterian College (S.C.) - 10; Northern State University (S.D.) - 8; California University Of Penn. (Penn.) - 6; Lake Superior State University (Mich.) - 4; University Of West Florida - 3; Michigan Tech. University - 1; Pace University (N.Y.) - 1; State U. Of West Georgia - 1.

REGIONAL RANK AND FILE: Stonehill was ranked second in the fifth NCAA Division II Northeast Regional rankings released by the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Committee last Wednesday afternoon, as the Skyhawks sat atop the regional poll for four straight weeks after ascending to the top spot on January 18th for the first time in 11 seasons. The NCAA Northeast Regional rankings, with records listed through games played as of February 12th, are as follows:

1Southern Connecticut State21-319-3

2Stonehill21-320-3

3American International19-519-5

4Pace19-619-6

5Holy Family20-119-1

6Saint Rose15-912-9

7Philadelphia U16-415-3

8St. Michael's17-715-7

9Bentley15-1214-9

10Franklin Pierce13-1112-9

THEY CALL IT THE STREAK: Stonehill's recent 18-game winning streak ranks as the second longest such skein in school history, as the Skyhawks' 19-game winning streak from November 1993 through January 1994 ranks as the longest skein in program history.

MEET IT, BEAT IT: Stonehill has already surpassed its entire win total of last season, as the Skyhawks collected 14 triumphs during the 2004-2005 campaign.

NOT JUST ANOTHER FACE IN THE CROWD: Kelsey Simonds was featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces In The Crowd" column in January 23rd edition of the magazine. Simonds was honored by Sports Illustrated after being selected as the Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week on four occasions this season. Skyhawk ice hockey freshman standout Brendan O'Brien is featured in the current edition (February 20th) of Sports Illustrated in "Faces In The Crowd".

SKYHAWKS IN TV LAND: Stonehill has been the subject of a pair of recent local television features, as the Skyhawks were featured on New England Sports Network's "Sports Desk" program on January 29th and again on February 9th on Boston's Fox 25 (WFXT-TV) Evening News. Head Coach Trisha Brown was profiled by NESN's Mike Perlow, while Kelsey Simonds was profiled by Fox 25's Ryan Asselta, along with the Skyhawks' success this season.

AYE, AYE CAPTAINS: Seniors Bethany Roderigue (Winslow, Maine/Winslow) and Barbara Dauplaise (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) have been named as co-captains for the 2005-2006 edition of Stonehill Women's Basketball. Roderigue averaged 4.4 points per game and led the Skyhawks with 28 three-pointers last season, while Dauplaise averaged 2.2 points per game and chipped in with 11 three-pointers.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: Stonehill is now 57-1 in its last 58 contests when holding an opponent to 59 or fewer points after the January 21st victory over Merrimack, a streak that dates back to February 2001.

CONFERENCE RANK AND FILE: In statistics through games of February 19th, Stonehill leads the Northeast-10 in scoring (71.2 ppg) and field goal percentage (.427), and the Skyhawks rank second in blocked shots (4.65 bpg), assists (15.73 apg) and steals (10.77 spg). Alisha Collins leads the conference in scoring at 18.2 ppg, while Erika Stupinski leads the league in assists (5.88) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.87). Kelsey Simonds is also ranked second in blocks (2.04 bpg) and free throw percentage (.842).

NCAA RANK AND FILE: Stonehill also ranks in several team and individual categories among NCAA Division II national statistical leaders through games of February 12th, as the Skyhawks are 17th in won-lost percentage, 47th in free throw percentage and 50th in field goal percentage. Individually, Alisha Collins ranks 30th in scoring, while Erika Stupinski is 12th in assists and Kelsey Simonds ranks 28th in blocked shots and 29th in free throw percentage.

COACH OF THE MONTH: Stonehill Head Coach Trisha Brown was recognized by Division II Women's Bulletin as the Division II Coach of the Month for her efforts in guiding the Skyhawks to a 6-0 start this season. Included in those six triumphs was a 101-59 victory over Bentley, as Stonehill has won 19 of 20 games played during November under Brown's tutelage dating back to 2001.

HIGH SCORING HALVES: Following the January 14th second half effort at Saint Michael's, Stonehill has scored 46 or more points in a half of play on seven occasions this season, with the high-water mark coming on November 22nd with 58 first-half points against Bentley.

THE CENTURY MARK: The November 22nd 101-point effort in the win over Bentley marked the first time that Stonehill had scored 100 or more points in a game since January 24, 1995 when the Skyhawks notched a school-record 109 points in a 109-45 victory at Assumption.

MILESTONE VICTORIES: The November 18th 69-60 victory over Molloy was the 650th win in the 35-year history of Stonehill women's basketball, as the Skyhawks have amassed an overall mark of 669-257 (.722) since the program's varsity inception in 1971. The November 19th victory over Adelphi was the 75th career triumph for Head Coach Trisha Brown, who now stands four wins shy of matching former Stonehill mentor Kelly Hart for second place on the Skyhawk career victory list with 98.

THE ALL-TIME VICTORIES LIST: Stonehill ranks 10th among all NCAA Division II women's basketball programs in both all-time victories and all-time winning percentage. The Skyhawks entered the 2005-2006 campaign with 648 wins and a .720 winning percentage. Here is the list of the top 10 Division II women's basketball programs of all-time:

TOTAL VICTORIESWINNING PERCENTAGE

1.Delta State8321.Bentley.812

2.Cal Poly Pomona7432.Arkansas Tech.797

3.Bentley7403.Pitt-Johnstown.795

4.Arkansas Tech7064.Delta State.789

5.Central Missouri State7035.Cal Poly Pomona.779

6.East Stroudsburg6936.West Texas A&M.766

7.Northern State6787.Northern State.759

8.Lincoln Memorial6588.Central Missouri State.725

9.Francis Marion6569.North Dakota.724

10.STONEHILL 64810.STONEHILL .720

HOME SWEET HOME: Merkert Gymnasium has certainly provided a distinct home court advantage for Stonehill, as the Skyhawks amassed an incredible mark of 114-18 (.864) at home during the 1990's. Over the last 11 seasons alone, Stonehill is 144-37 (.796) at Merkert Gymnasium.

SKYHAWK TALK: Stonehill is 7-3 against fellow NCAA Northeast regionally-ranked teams this seasonCollins has recorded 11 20-plus point performances this seasonStonehill improved to 14-1 all-time against Franklin Pierce with the February 11th victoryThe February 4th triumph at Saint Rose ended a three-game Golden Knight win streak in the seriesThe February 1st win over Pace was Stonehill's 15th in 19 series meetings with the Setters The January 21st win over Merrimack was Stonehill 50th victory in 57 series meetings with the WarriorsThe January 16th win over Saint Anselm was Stonehill's seventh straight over the Hawks and 44th in 63 series meetings between the teamsStonehill has now won 39 of 47 series meetings with Saint Michael's following the January 14th triumph, and the Skyhawks have won six straight over the Purple Knights since January 2002 .The December 5th win at LIU-C.W. Post improved Stonehill's all-time mark against New York Collegiate Athletic Conference opponents to 34-5 (.872), as the Skyhawks have also bested NYCAC foes St. Thomas Aquinas, Molloy and Adelphi this seasonCollins became the first Skyhawk to score 30 points in a game in the November 22nd win over Bentley since Kristen McDonnell turned the trick on January 20, 2003 at Pace The Skyhawks became the third team ever to reach the 100-point plateau against Bentley Stonehill is 22-2 (.917) in non-conference play during Trisha Brown's five-year tenure as head coach, including a 5-0 mark this season Stonehill has won all five of its season openers under Brown's tutelage Stonehill has posted 3-0 starts in each of its five campaigns under Brown, who has compiled an 19-1 (.950) mark during the month of NovemberStonehill has posted a 78-35 mark in its last 112 outings dating back to November 2002 for a winning percentage over that time span of .690.

SKYHAWKS ON THE WEB: For the second straight season, Stonehill basketball can be accessed on the world wide web through Free Teamline, a service of TRZ Sports of Kent, Ohio. A total of 16 Skyhawk regular season women's basketball broadcasts will be available throughout the 2005-2006 season via Free Teamline by accessing the official Stonehill Athletics website at www.stonehillskyhawks.com, powered by Presto Sports. Returning to call all of action of Stonehill basketball once again this winter is the tandem of Charlie Bergeron and Brian Buckley, who have served as the voices of Skyhawk Basketball since 1998.

WHO'S NEXT: Stonehill will be idle until next Tuesday, February 28th when the Skyhawks will host a quarterfinal round contest in the 2006 Northeast-10 Conference Women's Basketball Championships at Merkert Gymnasium beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST. Stonehill will be seeded either second or third in this year's tournament, and complete conference tournament pairings will be announced later this evening by the league office.