Simonds Scores Career-High 25 Points, Morast Adds Career-Best 21 Point Effort As 17th-Ranked Women's Basketball Matches Best Start In 11 Seasons With 13th Straight Victory In 92-80 Northeast-10 Triumph At Bryant

January 7, 2006

STONEHILL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Saturday, January 7, 2006

Chace Athletic Center, Smithfield, R.I.

FINAL:STONEHILL 92, BRYANT 80

SMITHFIELD, R.I.-- Freshman Kelsey Simonds (Bridgewater, Mass.) scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while junior Kim Morast (Bridgewater, Mass.) added a career-high 21 points as 17th-ranked Stonehill matched the second best start in school history with its 13th straight victory with a 92-80 Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball victory over Bryant Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.

The visiting Skyhawks, now 13-0 overall for the first time since the 1994-95 Stonehill squad posted a similar start en route to the NCAA Final Four and 8-0 in Northeast-10 play, overcame a pair of six-point first half deficits in the high scoring affair, as the visitors took a 48-44 advantage at the break. Stonehill used a quick 7-2 run in the first two minutes of the second half to take a nine-point edge at 55-46 before the host Bulldogs (6-7, 1-7 Northeast-10) battled back to close to within a bucket at 64-62 on a lay-in by senior Shannon Perry (Providence, R.I.) with 12:38 remaining. The Skyhawks answered back with seven straight points to regain that nine point advantage and extended their lead to 12 points (85-73) with 4:06 to play on a Simonds jumper, and Bryant got no closer than seven points in the final 2:45 of action.

Simonds and Morast combined for 24 of their points in the second half alone for Stonehill, which cracked the 90-point plateau for the second time this season. Junior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y.) added 16 points and six rebounds for the Skyhawks, who also received 10 points from junior Tiffany Huggins (Stoughton, Mass.). Junior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y.) grabbed eight rebounds in the triumph for the visitors, who also received eight assists and a career-high tying seven steals from sophomore Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine). Freshman Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.) scored a career-best eight points as well for Stonehill, which shot 44 percent from the field and canned nine three-pointers while holding a 23-18 scoring edge at the foul line.

Junior Joanna Skiba (Providence, R.I.) led all scorers with 26 points and six assists in the setback for Bryant, while Perry added a double-double effort of 21 points and 18 rebounds to go with three blocks. Junior Lauren Rubenoff (New Hartford, Conn.) was also in double figures with 10 points for the Bulldogs, who shot 41 percent from the field but hurt themselves with 21 turnovers that led to 32 Stonehill points. The win was the 42nd Skyhawk triumph in 58 series meetings between the two schools.

Stonehill hosts Assumption in a Northeast-10 outing on Tuesday evening at Merkert Gymnasium beginning at 5;30 p.m., while Bryant heads to North Andover, Mass. on Tuesday evening to take on Merrimack in a Northeast-10 match-up that also begins at 5:30 p.m.