Collins Posts Career-High 30 Points And 16 Rebounds As 11th-Ranked Women's Basketball Remains Unbeaten And Continues Best Start Ever With 65-53 Northeast-10 Victory Over Two-Time Defending NCAA Regional Champion Merrimack

January 21, 2006

STONEHILL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Merkert Gymnasium, Easton, Mass.

FINAL:STONEHILL 65, MERRIMACK 53

EASTON, Mass.-- Junior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y.) matched her career-high with 30 points and grabbed a career-best 16 rebounds as 11th-ranked Stonehill remained unbeaten and continued its best start ever with a 65-53 Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball victory over Merrimack Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium.

The host Skyhawks, who improve to 18-0 overall in posting the second longest winning streak in school history, are also off to their best Northeast-10 start in 12 years at 13-0 in league play, as Stonehill jumped out to an early 12-5 first half lead and extended that margin to 14 points on two occasions before settling for a 38-28 advantage at the break. The visiting Warriors (5-16, 2-11 Northeast-10) scored 21 of the first 34 points of the second half combined to close their gap to a bucket (51-49) on a lay-in by senior Joelle Martin (Somerville, Mass.), but the Skyhawks answered back with five straight points to take a seven points edge (56-49) on a free throw by junior Kim Morast (Bridgewater, Mass.) with 3:27 remaining. Merrimack, the two-time defending NCAA Northeast Regional champion, closed back to within five on the next possession, but that was as close as the Warriors would come, as Collins and junior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y.) canned five free throws in the final 2:05 of play to ice the triumph for the hosts.

Collins, who also scored 30 points earlier this season in a victory over Bentley, was joined in double figures by Kennedy, who netted 11 points and five rebounds for Stonehill, the top-ranked team in NCAA Northeast Regional circles. Sophomore Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine) added eight points and six assists for the Skyhawks, who also received seven points, four rebounds and three assists from Morast. Junior Tiffany Huggins (Stoughton, Mass.) added five points and four boards for the hosts, who overcame a 35 percent shooting effort by canning six three-pointers and holding a 19-13 scoring edge at the foul line to post their 50th win in 57 series meetings with Merrimack. Stonehill also improved to 57-1 in its last 58 contests when holding an opponent to 59 or fewer points, a streak that dates back to February 2002.

Martin led Merrimack in the scoring column with 22 points to go with five rebounds and four steals, while sophomore Kara Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) added a double-double effort of 11 points and 12 boards for the Warriors, who also received seven points and six caroms from junior Bryna Batten (Avalon, N.J.). Merrimack shot 33 percent from the field and held a 45-42 rebounding edge, but the Warriors hurt themselves with 25 turnovers.

Both teams will square off with Bentley in their next respective Northeast-10 outings, as Stonehill will take on the Falcons on Thursday evening at the Dana Center in Waltham, Mass. beginning at 5:30 p.m. Merrimack first faces Bentley in a league match-up on Tuesday evening in Waltham that also begins at 5:30 p.m.