Women's Basketball Earns 16th Berth Into NCAA Division II Championships, Second Seeded Skyhawks Square Off With Seventh Seeded New Haven In Northeast Regional Quarterfinals Friday Afternoon At Southern Connecticut

March 5, 2006

The Stonehill College women's basketball team is headed back to the "Big Dance" for the third time in the last four seasons, as the Skyhawks have earned an at-large berth into the national field of 64 teams selected for the 2006 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championships announced earlier this evening.

Head Coach Trisha Brown's Skyhawks, 23-6 overall and regular season runner-up in the Northeast-10 Conference, earned the program's 16th overall NCAA tournament bid and are seeded second in the Northeast Regional Championships, as Stonehill will square off with seventh-seeded New Haven (24-6) in regional quarterfinal round play on Friday, March 10th at Southern Connecticut State University's James Moore Fieldhouse in New Haven, Conn. beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST. The Chargers, who claimed the 1987 NCAA national championship after besting Stonehill in the New England Regional final, earned the automatic bid out of the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference by winning the league tournament title on Sunday afternoon over host C.W. Post.

Stonehill, the 10th winningest program in NCAA Division II history, is one of five Northeast-10 teams in the Northeast Regional field, as top-seeded Southern Connecticut (27-3) will square off with eighth-seeded University of the Sciences, Philadelphia (23-7) in quarterfinal round action on Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. EST. Third-seeded American International (21-7) will meet sixth-seeded Saint Rose (19-12) in an all-Northeast-10 match-up on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. EST, while fourth-seeded Pace (21-7) will take on fifth-seeded Holy Family (28-2) in quarterfinal round action on Friday evening at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Stonehill is one of five at-large teams in the Northeast Regional, as American International, Pace, Holy Family and Saint Rose join the Skyhawks in that group. Southern Connecticut claimed the Northeast-10's automatic bid by defeating Saint Rose in the conference championship, while the University of the Sciences, Philadelphia won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference's automatic bid on Saturday by upending Holy Family in the title game.

A new regional champion will be crowned this season, as two-time defending Northeast Regional champion Merrimack did not qualify for this year's championships.

Stonehill, which has a Final Four, two Elite Eight and four Sweet Sixteen appearances on its post-season resume, last appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2004. For more information on the 2006 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship, log-on to www.ncaasports.com.

2006 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball

Northeast Regional Championship

Hosted by Southern Connecticut State University

All Games To Be Played At James Moore Fieldhouse,

New Haven, Connecticut

NORTHEAST REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS FRIDAY, MARCH 10TH

Game #1:#2 STONEHILL (23-6) vs. #7 New Haven (24-6) 1:00 pm

Game #2:#3 American International (21-7) vs. #6 Saint Rose (19-12) 3:00 pm

Game #3:#1 Southern Connecticut (27-3) vs. #8 USP (23-7)6:00 pm

Game #4:#4 Pace (21-7) vs. #5 Holy Family (28-2)8:00 pm

NORTHEAST REGIONAL SEMI-FINALS SATURDAY, MARCH 11TH

Game #5:AIC/Saint Rose winner vs. STONEHILL/New Haven winner5:00 pm

Game #6:Southern Connecticut/USP winner vs. Pace/Holy Family winner7:30 pm

NORTHEAST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MONDAY, MARCH 13TH

Game #7:Semi-Final winners7:00 pm