Women's Basketball Seeks Fourth Straight Victory Tuesday Evening As Skyhawks Open Northeast-10 Play By Hosting 11th-Ranked Bentley In Conference Clash

November 22, 2005

2005-2006 Stonehill College Women's Basketball

5:30 p.m. EST

THE GAME: Stonehill looks to continue its early-season winning ways this evening as the Skyhawks open both their home and Northeast-10 Conference schedule by entertaining the 11th-ranked Bentley Falcons in the league lid-lifter for both squads. Stonehill, off to its fifth straight 3-0 start under Head Coach Trisha Brown, enters tonight's action after posting a pair of non-league victories over Molloy (69-60) and Adelphi (69-54) at the Assumption Courtyard Classic last weekend at Laska Gymnasium in Worcester, Mass. Junior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) led the way with 21 points and seven rebounds in last Friday's triumph over Molloy, while fellow junior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y./Trinity Catholic) added 14 points for the Skyhawks in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Freshman Kelsey Simonds (Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) scored a career-high 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Saturday's victory over Adelphi, as sophomore Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine/Mount Ararat) added 12 points and Collins chipped in with 10 for Stonehill, which used a 26-0 second half run to claim its eighth win in as many series meetings with the Panthers. Bentley enters tonight's action looking to end a two-game slide, as the Falcons dropped a pair of non-league contests over the weekend at the Bellarmine United Electric Classic in Louisville, Ky. Bentley fell in the opener by a 75-58 final to Rollins before dropping a 72-71 decision at the buzzer to Limestone in second round play.

HONOR ROLL HONOREES: Juniors Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) and Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y./Trinity Catholic) each earned spots on the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll on Monday for their efforts in Stonehill's three victories last week. Kennedy averaged 15 points and seven rebounds on the week, including 21 points and seven boards in the 69-60 win over Molloy, while Collins averaged 13.7 points and 3.7 rebounds, including 17 points in the 79-51 season-opening triumph at St. Thomas Aquinas.

LAST SEASON: Stonehill dropped a pair of tough two-point decisions to Bentley during the 2004-2005 season, as the Falcons posted a 62-60 triumph over the Skyhawks on November 23, 2004 at the Dana Center in Waltham, Mass. before eking out a 57-55 win on January 27, 2005 here at Merkert Gymnasium. Rachael Wile led Stonehill in the November setback with 12 points, while Alisha Collins added 15 points in the January decision for the Skyhawks.

THE SERIES: Tonight's contest marks the 76th meeting between Stonehill and Bentley in one of the storied rivalries in New England women's basketball, and the Falcons hold a 51-24 advantage over the Skyhawks in the all-time series between the two schools.

THE SKYHAWKS: Kennedy leads Stonehill at 15 ppg and shares the team rebounding lead with Simonds at seven caroms per contest. Collins adds 13.7 ppg and 3.7 rpg, while Stupinski follows with 10.7 ppg and 5.5 assists per game.

THE FALCONS: Graduate student Carolyn Gottstein leads Bentley in scoring and rebounding at 15.8 ppg and 11.6 rpg, while senior Kate Kelley adds 12.8 ppg and 5.3 rpg. Junior Lauren Moore is next at 11 ppg, while junior Shannon Kirwan is also in double figures for the Falcons at 10.8 ppg.

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 75-44

(.630) 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 with last Saturday's triumph over Adelphi, is 1-8 during her career against Bentley.

HEAD COACH BARBARA STEVENS: Barbara Stevens is in her 20th season as Head Women's Basketball Coach at Bentley College. A 1976 graduate of Bridgewater State, Stevens has amassed an overall mark of 536-93 (.852) during her tenure with the Falcons, while her career collegiate mark in 29 seasons stands at 693-184 (.790). Stevens, who is assisted by C White, Bill Gould and Shevon Gibbons, is 41-12 during her career against Stonehill.

MILESTONE VICTORIES: Friday's 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 651-252 (.721) since the program's varsity inception in 1971.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: Stonehill is now 49-1 in its last 50 contests when holding an opponent to 59 or fewer points after Saturday's win over Adelphi, a streak that dates back to February 2001.

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.

TWENTY-TWENTY VISION: Stonehill reached the 20-win plateau for the second time in Trisha Brown's three-year tenure as head coach and for the 17th time in the program's illustrious 34-year history in 2003-2004. The Skyhawks have won 20 or more games on nine occasions since 1991, including a school-record 30 victories during the 1994-95 campaign. Brown and former Stonehill mentor Kelly Hart have each recorded a pair of 20-win seasons on the bench, as Skyhawk Director of Athletics Paula Sullivan won 20 or more games on 15 occasions during her 25-year tenure as Stonehill's head coach.

THIRTY-THREE IN A ROW, LOOK AT EM GO: Stonehill has posted 34 straight winning campaigns after last year's 14-win season, a streak that dates back to the program's inception in 1971. The Skyhawks recorded 25 of those winning campaigns 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.

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 134-35 (.793) at Merkert Gymnasium.

SKYHAWK TALK: Saturday's win over Adelphi was the Skyhawks' eighth triumph in as many meetings with the PanthersStonehill has won all five of its season openers under Brown's tutelageLast Tuesday's match-up with St. Thomas Aquinas was the first meeting between the two teams since Stonehill's 83-49 triumph over the Spartans in the 2003 NCAA Northeast Regional quarterfinalsStonehill has played over 900 contests in 34-plus varsity seasons of action The Skyhawks are 20-2 (.909) in non-conference play in Brown's first four-plus seasonsStonehill has posted 3-0 starts in each of its five campaigns under Brown, who has compiled a 16-1 (.941) mark during the month of NovemberStonehill's 8-1 start last winter was its second in three seasonsStonehill has won 60 of its last 90 contests dating back to November 2002.

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 15 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 returns to action on Sunday, November 27th when the Skyhawks entertain Saint Michael's in a Northeast-10 outing here at Merkert Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. EST.