Women's Basketball Returns To Action In Search Of 10th Straight Victory As Skyhawks Entertain Saginaw Valley State In Pre-Holiday Non-Conference Match-Up

December 18, 2005

2005-2006 Stonehill College Women's Basketball

6:00 p.m. EST

THE GAME: Stonehill closes out its pre-holiday schedule this evening as the Skyhawks search for the 10th straight victory in hosting the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals in a non-conference match-up. Stonehill has been idle since posting a 71-57 Northeast-10 Conference triumph over Bryant on December 10th here at Merkert Gymnasium, as junior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y./Trinity Catholic) led three players in double figures with a game-high 22 points to go with six rebounds. Freshman Kelsey Simonds (Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) came off the bench to record her third career double-double with 15 points, a career-high 18 rebounds and a career-best six blocked shots, while junior Kim Morast (Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) was also in double figures with 13 points, four assists and three steals for the Skyhawks. Sophomore Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine/Mount Ararat) added eight points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals for Stonehill, which is off to its best start at 9-0 since the 1994-95 squad that won 30 games and advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four won its first 13 contests of that season. Saginaw Valley State, out of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, is in the midst of a three-game swing through New England, and the Cardinals opened their trip with a tough 87-86 double-overtime setback to Bryant Sunday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, R.I.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y./Trinity Catholic) was named last Monday as the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks for her efforts in a pair of Stonehill victories. Collins averaged 19.5 points, five rebounds and 1.5 steals on the week for the Skyhawks, including 22 points and six boards in a 71-57 win over Bryant to go with 17 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals in a 69-55 triumph at LIU-C.W. Post. Collins shot 60 percent (18-30) from the field for the week.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Freshman Kelsey Simonds (Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) was named last Monday as the Northeast-10 Conference Freshman of the Week for the second time in three weeks for her performance in a pair of Stonehill triumphs. Simonds averaged 9.5 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, 1.5 assists and one steal in two contests, including a double-double effort of 15 points and 18 rebounds to go with six blocks in a 71-57 victory over Bryant while adding six boards and two blocks in a 69-55 win at LIU-C.W. Post.

HONOR ROLL HONOREE: Sophomore Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine/Mount Ararat) was named last Monday to the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll for her efforts in a pair of Stonehill victories. Stupinski averaged 12 points, 8.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, four steals and one block on the week, including a double-double effort of 16 points and 10 assists in a 69-55 win at LIU-C.W. Post while adding eight points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals in a 71-57 triumph over Bryant.

THE SERIES: Tonight's contest marks the first ever meeting between Stonehill and Saginaw Valley State. Tonight's game is also the final regular season non-league outing of the season for the Skyhawks.

THE SKYHAWKS: Collins leads Stonehill in scoring at 18.1 ppg, while Stupinski follows at 10.6 ppg while adding 5.4 assists per contest. Simonds is next at 10.4 ppg and paces the Skyhawks on the boards at 9.3 caroms per contest, while junior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) is also in double figures at an even 10 ppg.

THE CARDINALS: Sophomore Jenna Schroeder leads Saginaw Valley State in scoring at 14.7 ppg, while sophomore Kali Briggs follows at 14.4 ppg while adding 8.5 rpg. Junior Bernettra Grayer is also in double figures is next at 11.9 ppg and leads the Cardinals on the boards at 9.2 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 81-44 (.648) 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, has never previously faced Saginaw Valley State during her career.

HEAD COACH VONNIE KILMER: Vonnie Kilmer is in her second season as Head Women's Basketball Coach at Saginaw Valley State University. A 1988 graduate of Michigan, Kilmer has posted an overall mark of 9-26 (.257) during her tenure with the Cardinals, and she is assisted by Bill DeLong. Kilmer has never previously faced Stonehill during her career.

FAST START: Stonehill's 9-0 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 nine-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.

NON-CONFERENCE NUMBERS: Stonehill is 21-2 (.913) in non-conference play during Trisha Brown's five year tenure as head coach, including a 4-0 mark during the 2005-2006 season.

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 657-252 (.723) 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 53-1 in its last 54 contests when holding an opponent to 59 or fewer points after the December 10th victory over Bryant, a streak that dates back to February 2001.

CONFERENCE RANK AND FILE: Stonehill entered last week leading the Northeast-10 in scoring offense (75.4 ppg), scoring margin (+17.1), field goal percentage (.471), assists (17.78 apg) and steals (10.89 spg) while ranking second in three-point field goal percentage (.400), rebounding defense (30.8 drpg), rebounding margin (+ 8.1), blocked shots (4.33 bpg), turnover margin (+ 3.00), assist-to-turnover ratio (0.96) and three-point field goals made (7.11 per game). Alisha Collins ranks second in individual scoring at 18.1 ppg, while Kelsey Simonds in second in rebounding (9.3 rpg) and blocked shots (1.78 bpg) and leads the league on defensive rebounds (7.11 drpg). Erika Stupinski leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.45) and is second in both assists (5.44 apg) and steals (3.22 spg), while senior co-captain Barbara Dauplaise (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) leads the Northeast-10 in three-point field goal percentage (.625).

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 138-35 (.798) at Merkert Gymnasium.

POLL POSITION: Stonehill received votes in last week's USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II national poll for the second straight week, as the Skyhawks garnered 23 votes to rank tied for 29th in the team listings.

SKYHAWK TALK: The December 10th victory was Stonehill's 41st in 57 series meetings with BryantThe December 5th 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 66 of its last 96 contests (.688) 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.

WHO'S NEXT: Stonehill will be idle until after the New Year, as the Skyhawks return to action two weeks from tonight on Monday, January 2nd to square off with two-time defending NCAA Northeast Regional champion Merrimack in a Northeast-10 Conference clash at the Volpe Complex in North Andover, Mass., with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m. EST. Stonehill returns home on Thursday, January 5th for a league showdown with 19th-ranked American International here at Merkert Gymnasium that also begins at 5:30 p.m. EST.