Women's Basketball Set For Sweet Sixteenth Appearance In NCAA Division II Championships, 25th-Ranked Skyhawks Tangle With NYCAC Champion New Haven In Northeast Regional Quarterfinals Friday Afternoon

March 8, 2006

2005-2006 Stonehill College Women's Basketball

1:00 p.m. EST

WELCOME BACK TO BRACKETVILLE: Stonehill makes its 16th overall appearance in the NCAA Division II "Big Dance" this afternoon as the second-seeded and 25th-ranked Skyhawks square off with the seventh-seeded New Haven Chargers in quarterfinal round play of the 2006 NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Championships. Stonehill, which earned its third trip to the NCAA championships in the last four seasons with an at-large selection into the field of 64 teams, returns to Southern Connecticut's Moore Fieldhouse for the second straight week, as the Skyhawks enter NCAA tournament play after dropping a 72-66 decision to Saint Rose in the 2006 Northeast-10 Conference Semi-Finals last Friday evening in this very location. Junior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y./Trinity Catholic (Conn.), the 2005-2006 Northeast-10 Player of the Year, led the way with 26 points and seven rebounds in the setback for Stonehill, which also received 16 points and nine caroms from junior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y./St. Francis Prep). Junior Kim Morast (Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) chipped in with nine points and six assists on the night for the Skyhawks, who also received a career-high seven points off the bench from sophomore Daryl Cioffi (New Milford, N.J./Immaculate Heart), as Stonehill made its 19th appearance in the conference semi-finals in the 25-year history of the tournament. New Haven enters Friday's NCAA Northeast Regional quarterfinals riding a nine-game winning streak, as the Chargers captured the automatic bid out of the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 64-50 victory over C.W. Post in the league tournament title game last Sunday afternoon at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y.

STONEHILL IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Stonehill sports an overall mark of 13-16 in 29 previous NCAA tournament appearances, as the Skyhawks have advanced to a pair of Elite Eights and three Sweet Sixteens, with the 1994-95 edition advancing all the way to the Final Four with a school record 30 victories. Stonehill advanced to the NCAA Northeast Regional Semi-Finals in its last tournament appearance in 2004 after going to the Sweet Sixteen the previous season.

STONEHILL IN THE POST-SEASON: Stonehill has posted an overall mark of 59-42 (.584) in post-season play, as the February 28th Northeast-10 quarterfinal contest against UMass Lowell was the program's 100th post-season contest. The Skyhawks are 37-22 in conference tournament action.

HONOR ROLL HONOREES: Juniors Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y./Trinity Catholic) and Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) each earned spots on the Northeast-10 Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Monday for their efforts during last week's league championships. Collins averaged 19.5 points and six rebounds during the tournament, including 26 points and seven boards in a 72-66 semi-final setback to Saint Rose to go with 13 points and five caroms in a 53-42 quarterfinal round win over UMass Lowell. Kennedy averaged 10.5 points and 6.5 boards on the week, including 16 points and nine rebounds in the semi-final round setback to Saint Rose.

LAST MEETING: Stonehill and New Haven last met on November 15, 2004 in the 2004 Northeast-10/NYCAC Challenge at Merkert Gymnasium, and the Skyhawks posted a 61-57 victory over the Chargers. Caitlin Kennedy led three players in double figures with 15 points in the win for Stonehill, which also received 11 points and seven rebounds from sophomore Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine/Mount Ararat) as well as 10 points from Patricia Odom and six assists from Kim Morast.

THE SERIES: Stonehill and New Haven are meeting for the 21st time this afternoon, and the Skyhawks hold a 16-4 advantage over the Chargers in the all-time series between the two schools. New Haven has won both post-season match-ups with Stonehill, as the Chargers posted a 72-64 victory in the 1987 NCAA New England Regional title game en route to the national championship as well as an 85-69 triumph in the 1988 NCAA New England Regional Semi-Finals.

THE SKYHAWKS: Collins leads Stonehill and the Northeast-10 in scoring at 18.1 ppg while adding 6.2 rpg, while 2005-2006 Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year Kelsey Simonds (Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) follows at 10.3 ppg and a team-best 7.4 caroms per contest. Kennedy is next at 9.8 ppg while adding 6.1 rpg, while Stupinski adds 8.8 ppg and a league-leading 5.7 apg. Morast follows at 8.4 ppg to date for the Skyhawks.

THE CHARGERS: Junior Ashley Hilton leads New Haven in scoring and rebounding at 16.3 ppg and 8.3 caroms per contest, while freshman Lauren Hood and junior Tristan Jackson follow for the Chargers at 8.1 and 8.0 ppg, respectively.

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 95-50 (.655) 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 triumph over Adelphi on November 19th, is 5-7 during her career in post-season play overall (including 3-2 in NCAA tournament action) and is 2-0 during her career against New Haven.

HEAD COACH DAYNIA La-FORCE MANN: Daynia La-Force Mann is in her first season as Head Women's Basketball Coach at the University of New Haven. A 1995 graduate of Georgetown, La-Force Mann has compiled an overall mark of 24-6 (.800) during her first season with the Chargers after previously serving as an assistant at St. John's. La-Force Mann, who is assisted by Wayne Eddy, Vicki Wancel and Ceyda Mumcu, has never previously faced Stonehill during her career.

SWEET SIXTEEN: Stonehill is making its 16th appearance in the NCAA Championships in 25 years of the Division II Women's Basketball Championship. Trisha Brown has guided the Skyhawks to three NCAA tournaments in five years at the helm after Paula Sullivan (10) and Kelly Hart (3) had combined for 13 NCAA trips over the program's first 30 years of existence.

HEY NINETEEN: Stonehill reached the Northeast-10 Final Four for the 19th time in 25 seasons, the second highest total of league semi-final appearances in conference history. The Skyhawks join Bentley as the only two schools to qualify for all 25 Northeast-10 tournaments.

THE CENTURY MARK, PART ONE: The February 28th Northeast-10 quarterfinal round match-up with UMass Lowell was the 100th post-season contest in Stonehill history, as 50 of the Skyhawks' 59 post-season victories have come in Northeast-10 and NCAA tournament play combined.

NATIONAL RANK AND FILE: Stonehill is ranked 25th in this week's USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II national poll released on Tuesday afternoon, as the Skyhawks have been rated in the top 25 in each of the last 11 weeks. Stonehill has been rated as high as ninth in the WBCA poll, cracking the top 10 for the first time in 11 years on January 24th. Here is the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II Top 25 as of March 7th:

RankInstitution (First Place Votes)Last Week's RankRecordPoints

1.Washburn University (Kan.) -20130-0548

2.University of North Dakota - 2232-0530

3.University Of Charleston (W.Va.)628-2477

4.Western Washington University726-1462

5.Drury University (Mo.)328-2450

6.Glenville State College (W.Va.)428-2432

7.Delta State University (Miss.)1028-2395

8.Emporia State University (Kan.)525-4395

9.Rollins College (Fla.)828-1360

10.Grand Valley State University (Mich.)1327-3316

11.Florida Gulf Coast University1228-1313

12.Saint Cloud State University (Minn.)925-4312

13.Henderson State University (Ark.)1126-4285

14.California State University - Chico1624-3277

15.West Texas A&M University1727-3246

16.Southern Conn. St. University1827-3215

17.Fort Valley State University (Ga.)1528-2211

18.California State University - Bakersfield1423-4199

19.Wayne State College (Neb.)2027-3160

20.Shaw University (N.C.)2126-4144

21.Northern Kentucky University 2226-4134

22.Clayton State University (Ga.)1925-581

23.University Of California-San Diego2323-475

24.Holy Family University (Penn.)2528-227

25.Stonehill College (Mass.)2423-626

Others Receiving Votes: Anderson College (S.C.) - 25; Regis University (Colo.) - 16; North Georgia College & State University - 9; California University Of PA (Penn.) - 6; Wingate University (N.C.) - 4; American International College (Mass.) - 3; Paine College (Ga.) - 3; University Of West Florida - 3; Wheeling Jesuit University (W.Va.) - 3; Barton College (N.C.) - 2; Northern State University (S.D.) - 2; Pace University (N.Y.) - 2; State U. Of West Georgia 2

POLL POSITION: Stonehill is once again the only school to have both its women's and men's basketball squads ranked in their respective Division II national polls, as the Skyhawk men are rated 12th in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches poll. The Stonehill women have been ranked as high as ninth this season, while the men's team has been rated as high as 10th.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO: Stonehill College junior forward Alisha Collins has been named as the 2005-2006 Northeast-10 Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year for her efforts this season, while Skyhawk freshman forward Kelsey Simonds has been tabbed as the 2005-2006 Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year in a vote of the league's coaches. Collins, a native of Port Chester, N.Y. and a graduate of Trinity Catholic (Conn.) High School, becomes the sixth Stonehill individual to earn Northeast-10 Player of the Year honors, joining former standouts Julie Stockwell (1998-99), Sue Patchett (1996-97), Michelle Doonan (1993-94 and 1994-95), Mary Naughton (1987-88) and Lesli Laychak (1986-87) in garnering that accolade. A four-time selection as Northeast-10 Player of the Week during the regular season, Collins currently leads the conference in scoring at 17.8 ppg while adding 6.1 caroms per contest, shooting nearly 50 percent from the field for the season. Collins has topped the 20-point plateau on 11 occasions, including a pair of 30-point efforts in wins over Bentley and Merrimack, and she was also a first-team all-conference selection for her performance this winter. Simonds, a native of Bridgewater, Mass. and a graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School, has been named as the Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week on seven occasions this season, as she has recorded five double-doubles to date and ranks second on the team in scoring at 10.6 ppg while adding a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game. Simonds, who also ranks among the national leaders in blocked shots (1.9 bpg), netted a career-best 25 points in a win over Bryant and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds against UMass Lowell. Simonds becomes the sixth Stonehill individual to earn the nod as the Northeast-10's top rookie, joining former standouts Kristen McDonnell (1999-2000), Patchett (1993-94), Paula Kohs (1988-89), Katy Delaney (1986-87) and Chris Donovan (1983-84).

AND THEY'RE OFF: To the best start in the 35-year history of Stonehill women's basketball, as the Skyhawks' 18-0 mark out of the gate surpassed the 1971-72 squad's 14-0 mark set during the inaugural varsity year in program history.

TWENTY-TWENTY VISION: Stonehill reached the 20-win plateau for the third time in four years under Head Coach Trisha Brown and for the 18th time overall with the February 4th triumph at Saint Rose. The Skyhawks have won 20 or more games on 10 occasions since 1991, including a school-record 30 victories during the 1994-95 campaign. Former Stonehill mentor Kelly Hart recorded a pair of 20-win seasons prior to Brown's arrival, as Skyhawk Director of Athletics Paula Sullivan won 20 or more games on 13 occasions during her 25-year tenure as head coach.

THIRTY-FIVE IN A ROW, LOOK AT EM GO: With the January 10th triumph over Assumption, Stonehill has now posted 35 straight winning campaigns, a streak that dates back to the program's inception in 1971. The Skyhawks recorded 25 of those winning seasons 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.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE, DOUBLE YOUR FUN: The December 19th win over Saginaw Valley State enabled Stonehill to reach the double-digit plateau in the victory column for the 29th straight season. The Skyhawks reached the 10-win mark before the turn of the New Year for the first time since December 1994.

THEY CALL IT THE STREAK: Stonehill's recent 18-game winning streak ranks as the second longest such skein in school history, as the Skyhawks' 19-game winning streak from November 1993 through January 1994 ranks as the longest skein in program history.

MEET IT, BEAT IT: Stonehill has already surpassed its entire win total of last season, as the Skyhawks collected 14 triumphs during the 2004-2005 campaign.

PRE-SEASON PROGNOSTICATION PREDICAMENT: After being picked to finish seventh in the final conference standings in the pre-season Northeast-10 coaches poll, Stonehill finished five spots higher as the league regular season runner-up to 18th-ranked Southern Connecticut.

NOT JUST ANOTHER FACE IN THE CROWD: Kelsey Simonds was featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces In The Crowd" column in January 23rd edition of the magazine. Simonds was honored by Sports Illustrated after being selected as the Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week on four occasions this season. Skyhawk ice hockey freshman standout Brendan O'Brien was featured in the February 20th edition of Sports Illustrated in "Faces In The Crowd".

SKYHAWKS IN TV LAND: Stonehill has been the subject of a pair of recent local television features, as the Skyhawks were featured on New England Sports Network's "Sports Desk" program on January 29th and again on February 9th on Boston's Fox 25 (WFXT-TV) Evening News. Head Coach Trisha Brown was profiled by NESN's Mike Perlow, while Kelsey Simonds was profiled by Fox 25's Ryan Asselta, along with the Skyhawks' success this season.

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.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: Stonehill is now 59-1 in its last 60 contests when holding an opponent to 59 or fewer points after the February 28th Northeast-10 quarterfinal win over UMass Lowell, a streak that dates back to February 2001.

CONFERENCE RANK AND FILE: In statistics through games of March 5th, Stonehill leads the Northeast-10 in scoring (69.7 ppg) and ranked second in field goal percentage (.418), blocked shots (4.48 bpg), assists (15.28 apg) and steals (10.62 spg). Alisha Collins leads the conference in scoring at 18.1 ppg, while Erika Stupinski leads the league in assists (5.66).

NCAA RANK AND FILE: Stonehill also ranks in several team and individual categories among NCAA Division II national statistical leaders through games of March 5th, as the Skyhawks are 35th in won-lost percentage. Individually, Alisha Collins ranks 28th in scoring, while Erika Stupinski is 16th in assists and Kelsey Simonds ranks 34th in blocked shots.

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 Bentley, as Stonehill has won 19 of 20 games played during November under Brown's tutelage dating back to 2001.

HIGH SCORING HALVES: Following the January 14th second half effort at Saint Michael's, Stonehill has scored 46 or more points in a half of play on seven occasions this season, with the high-water mark coming on November 22nd with 58 first-half points against Bentley.

THE CENTURY MARK, PART TWO: 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.

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 671-258 (.722) since the program's varsity inception in 1971. The November 19th victory over Adelphi was the 75th career triumph for Head Coach Trisha Brown, who now stands three wins shy of matching former Stonehill mentor Kelly Hart for second place on the Skyhawk career victory list with 98.

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. Here is the list of the top 10 Division II women's basketball programs of all-time:

TOTAL VICTORIESWINNING PERCENTAGE

1.Delta State8321.Bentley.812

2.Cal Poly Pomona7432.Arkansas Tech.797

3.Bentley7403.Pitt-Johnstown.795

4.Arkansas Tech7064.Delta State.789

5.Central Missouri State7035.Cal Poly Pomona.779

6.East Stroudsburg6936.West Texas A&M.766

7.Northern State6787.Northern State.759

8.Lincoln Memorial6588.Central Missouri State.725

9.Francis Marion6569.North Dakota.724

10.STONEHILL 64810.STONEHILL .720

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 145-37 (.797) at Merkert Gymnasium.

AGAINST THE FIELD: Stonehill is 3-3 against this year's NCAA Northeast Regional field, having defeated Pace and splitting a pair of match-ups with both American International and Saint Rose. The Skyhawks dropped a match-up with top-seeded Southern Connecticut back in January.

SKYHAWK TALK: Stonehill's 23 victories to date represents the Skyhawks' highest single-season win total since the 1997-98 campaign.The December 5th win at LIU-C.W. Post improved Stonehill's all-time mark against New York Collegiate Athletic Conference opponents to 34-5 (.872), as the Skyhawks have also bested NYCAC foes St. Thomas Aquinas, Molloy and Adelphi this seasonThe February 28th quarterfinal win over UMass Lowell avenged a three-point setback Stonehill suffered to the River Hawks back on February 7thThe February 21st win enabled Stonehill to sweep the regular season series from Assumption and post its 41st triumph in 55 series meetings with the Greyhounds Collins has recorded 12 20-plus point performances this seasonStonehill improved to 14-1 all-time against Franklin Pierce with the February 11th victory The February 1st win over Pace was Stonehill's 15th in 19 series meetings with the Setters The January 21st win over Merrimack was Stonehill 50th victory in 57 series meetings with the WarriorsThe January 16th win over Saint Anselm was Stonehill's seventh straight over the Hawks and 44th in 63 series meetings between the teamsStonehill has now won 39 of 47 series meetings with Saint Michael's following the January 14th triumphCollins became the first Skyhawk to score 30 points in a game in the November 22nd win over Bentley since Kristen McDonnell turned the trick on January 20, 2003 at Pace The Skyhawks became the third team ever to reach the 100-point plateau against Bentley Stonehill is 22-2 (.917) in non-conference play during Trisha Brown's five-year tenure as head coach, including a 5-0 mark this season Stonehill has won all five of its season openers under Brown's tutelage 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 has posted an 80-36 mark in its last 116 outings dating back to November 2002 for a winning percentage over that time span of .690.

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 16 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: The winner of today's Stonehill-New Haven NCAA Northeast Regional quarterfinal advances to the 2006 NCAA Northeast Regional Semi-Final round on Saturday, March 11th to face the winner of the upcoming quarterfinal round contest between third-seeded American International and sixth-seeded Saint Rose here at Southern Connecticut's Moore Fieldhouse beginning at 5:00 p.m. EST. The 2006 NCAA Northeast Regional championship game is set for Monday, March 13th here at the Moore Fieldhouse beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST.

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)8:30 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