Women's Basketball Returns Home In Search Of Ninth Victory In As Many Outings Saturday Afternoon As Skyhawks Entertain Bryant In Northeast-10 Clash

December 9, 2005

2005-2006 Stonehill College Women's Basketball

1:30 p.m. EST

THE GAME: Stonehill, off to its best start since the 1994-95 Final Four squad began the year with 13 straight victories, returns home in search of its ninth straight triumph this afternoon as the Skyhawks tangle with the Bryant Bulldogs in a Northeast-10 Conference clash. Stonehill extended its longest winning streak in eight seasons to eight straight on Wednesday evening with a 69-55 non-league victory over LIU-C.W. Post at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y. Junior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y./Trinity Catholic) led three players in double figures with 17 points in the triumph for the Skyhawks, who also received a double-double effort of 16 points and 10 assists from sophomore Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine/Mount Ararat) as well as 12 points (on four three-pointers) off the bench from senior co-captain Barbara Dauplaise (Brockton, Mass./Brockton). Junior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) chipped in with eight points and five rebounds in a return to her native Long Island for the visitors, who also received a team-high six boards from freshman Kelsey Simonds (Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman), as Stonehill used a 22-8 run to start the second half to claim the triumph in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Bryant enters today's action after posting a 68-67 non-league victory over Adelphi on Monday evening at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, R.I.

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 victories last week. Collins, last week's Northeast-10 Player of the Week honoree, averaged 19 points and 9.5 rebounds in two contests, including 23 points and eight rebounds in an 84-74 triumph over LeMoyne and a double-double effort of 15 points and 11 boards in a 62-49 win at Saint Anselm.

LAST SEASON: Stonehill and Bryant split their two meetings during the 2004-2005 season, with each team winning on the other's home court. The Skyhawks used a three-pointer by Erika Stupinski at the buzzer of regulation to force overtime en route to an 83-75 victory on December 12, 2004 at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, R.I., and the Bulldogs notched an 81-68 triumph on January 8, 2005 here at Merkert Gymnasium. Rachael Wile led five players in double figures with a double-double effort of 15 points and 15 rebounds in the win for Stonehill, and she also scored 16 points in the January setback for the Skyhawks.

THE SERIES: Today's contest marks the 57th meeting between Stonehill and Bryant, and the Skyhawks hold a 40-16 advantage over the Bulldogs in the all-time series between the schools.

THE SKYHAWKS: Collins leads Stonehill in scoring at 17.6 ppg, while Stupinski follows at 10.9 ppg while adding 5.3 assists per contest. Kennedy is next at 10.8 ppg and 6.6 rpg, while Simonds adds 9.9 ppg and leads the Skyhawks on the boards at 9.9 caroms per contest.

THE BULLDOGS: Junior Joanna Skiba leads Bryant in scoring at 13.5 ppg, while junior Lauren Rubenoff follows at 9.0 ppg and leads the Bulldogs on the boards at 7.7 caroms per contest.

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 an 80-44 (.645) 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 69-54 triumph over Adelphi on November 19th, is 3-5 during her career against Bryant.

HEAD COACH MARY BURKE: Mary Burke is in her 15th season as Head Women's Basketball Coach at Bryant University. A 1988 graduate of Providence, Burke has guided the Bulldogs to an overall mark of 200-198 (.503) during her tenure and recorded her 200th career victory with Monday's 68-67 triumph over Adelphi. Burke, who is assisted by Mark Caruso and John Hogan, is 6-27 during her career against Stonehill.

FAST START: Stonehill's 8-0 start is the Skyhawks' best since the 1994-95 NCAA Final Four team began that 30-win season under Paula Sullivan with 13 straight victories. Stonehill's current eight-game winning streak is its longest since a 10-game win skein in January 1997 during Kelly Hart's inaugural season as head coach.

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 then 11th-ranked Bentley, as Stonehill has won 19 of 20 games played during the month of November under Brown's tutelage dating back to 2001.

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.

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.

BEHIND THE BENTLEY NUMBERS: Stonehill's 58-first half points in the November 22nd win over Bentley ranks as the second highest first-half total in school history, topped only by a 61-point effort in the opening 20 minutes against Springfield during the 1992-93 season. The Skyhawks' 15 three-pointers also ranks as the second highest single-game total in school history, as Stonehill has canned 17 three-pointers on two occasions.

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 656-252 (.722) since the program's varsity inception in 1971. The November 19th 69-54 win over Adelphi was the 75th career triumph for Head Coach Trisha Brown.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: Stonehill is now 52-1 in its last 53 contests when holding an opponent to 59 or fewer points after Wednesday's victory at LIU-C.W. Post, a streak that dates back to February 2001.

SEE THE THREE, BE THE THREE: In leading the Northeast-10 in team offense currently (76 points per game), Stonehill has nearly doubled-up its opponents in three-point field goals made with 61 treys in eight contests, an average of 7.6 per game.

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 137-35 (.797) at Merkert Gymnasium.

SKYHAWK TALK: Wednesday's win at LIU-C.W. Post improved Stonehill's all-time mark against New York Collegiate Athletic Conference foes to 34-5 (.872), as the Skyhawks have also bested NYCAC foes Molloy (69-60) and Adelphi (69-54) this seasonStonehill is now 21-2 (.913) against non-conference foes during Trisha Brown's tenure as head coachStonehill has won six straight in the series with Saint Anselm and five straight in the series with Saint Michael's dating back to January 2002Collins became the first Skyhawk to score 30 points in a game in the win over Bentley since Kristen McDonnell turned the trick on January 20, 2003 at Pace. Collins has led Stonehill in the scoring column in three straight contests and in half of the eight Skyhawk games to date After scoring 55 points for the game in the last meeting between the two teams last January, Stonehill tallied 58 points in the opening half of the November 22nd triumph over BentleyThe Skyhawks became the third team ever to reach the 100-point plateau against the FalconsThe November 22nd triumph over then 11th-ranked Bentley was Stonehill's first over a ranked opponent since March 2004 when the Skyhawks bested then 20th-ranked Holy Family in the NCAA Northeast Regional quarterfinalsThe November 19th 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 tutelageThe November 15th season-opening 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 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's 8-1 start last winter was its second in three seasonsStonehill has won 65 of its last 95 contests (.684) 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.

WELCOME TO TOWN OF EASTON DAY: Today is "Town of Easton Day" at Merkert Gymnasium, as all Town of Easton residents will be admitted free (identification required), and in lieu of an admission fee any donation(s) would/will be greatly accepted, as all fundraised proceeds will go towards the payment of a wheelchair accessible van for Bob Coe, a 29-year-old life-long resident of Easton who has Muscular Dystrophy, in order for him to continue his work at Massachusetts Hospital School and his studies at Massasoit Community College.

J.J. JUMPER'S IN THE HOUSE: Today's doubleheader with Bryant will also mark the return of J.J. Jumper, the official mascot of NCAA Basketball, to Merkert Gymnasium, as J.J. visits the Stonehill campus for the third straight season.

WHO'S NEXT: Stonehill will be idle until Monday, December 19th when the Skyhawks host Saginaw Valley State in a non-league contest at Merkert Gymnasium beginning at 6:00 p.m. EST.