Simonds Comes Off Bench To Score Career-High 22 Points, Stupinski Ties School Record With 15 Assists As Women's Basketball Reaches Perfect Ten In Win Column With 84-63 Non-League Victory Over Saginaw Valley State

December 19, 2005

STONEHILL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Monday, December 19, 2005

Merkert Gymnasium, Easton, Mass.

FINAL:STONEHILL 84, SAGINAW VALLEY STATE 63

EASTON, Mass.-- Freshman Kelsey Simonds (Bridgewater, Mass.) came off the bench to score a career-high 22 points to lead three players in double figures as Stonehill continued its best start in 11 years in reaching double-digits in the win column with an 84-63 non-league college women's basketball victory over Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) Monday evening at Merkert Gymnasium.

The host Skyhawks, 10-0 for the first time since the start of the 1994-95 season, hit their first seven shots from the field and shot 63 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of play en route to a 52-37 advantage at the break, and Stonehill extended that margin to 20 points (57-37) early in the second half before the visiting Cardinals (2-8) used a 12-4 run over a five-minute stretch to close to within 12 at 61-49 with 14:55 remaining. The Skyhawks maintained no less than a 13-point edge over the next seven minutes of action before using a quick 9-2 spurt to regain a 20-point cushion at 80-60 with 4:50 to play and built that edge back to 21 in the final 1:43 of action.

Simonds connected on 9-of-11 shots from the field in the win for Stonehill while adding five rebounds and four blocked shots, while junior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y.) added 21 points to go with five rebounds and three assists. Junior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y.) was also in double figures for the hosts with 15 points, as Simonds, Collins and Kennedy combined to shoot 73 percent (24-33) from the field for the contest.

Sophomore Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine) tied the Stonehill single-game record for assists by dishing off 15 on the evening, tying a mark set originally in 1983 by Christine Donovan and tied in 1986 by Denise West. Stupinski added seven steals in the win for the Skyhawks, who also received nine points and three assists from junior Kim Morast (Bridgewater, Mass.) as well as seven points and three steals from senior Bethany Roderigue (Winslow, Maine). Stonehill blistered the nets at a 59 percent clip (35-59) for the evening and recorded 27 assists as a team to overcome 27 turnovers in claiming the triumph in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Sophomore Kara Kinzer (Shelby Township, Mich.) led four players in double figures with 16 points, including four three-pointers, in the setback for Saginaw Valley State, which also received 14 points from junior Bernettra Grayer (Gary, Ind.). Sophomores Jenna Schroeder (Clio, Mich.) and Kali Briggs (Jackson, Mich.) each finished with 11 points for the Cardinals, as Schroeder added seven assists and Briggs grabbed a game-high seven rebounds for the visitors. Saginaw Valley State shot 40 percent from the field for the contest and hurt itself by committing 32 turnovers that led to 28 Stonehill points.

Stonehill will be idle until Monday, January 2nd when the Skyhawks travel to North Andover, Mass. to take on Merrimack in a Northeast-10 Conference match-up that tips-off at 5:30 p.m., while Saginaw Valley State wraps-up its three-game New England swing on Wednesday evening by taking on UMass Lowell in a non-league contest in Lowell, Mass. beginning at 7:00 p.m.