Women's Basketball Looks To Continue Fast Start, Hot Shooting Sunday Afternoon As Skyhawks Host Saint Michael's In Northeast-10 Match-Up

November 26, 2005

2005-2006 Stonehill College Women's Basketball

1:30 p.m. EST

THE GAME: Stonehill looks to continue its best start in four seasons this afternoon as the Skyhawks entertain the Saint Michael's Purple Knights in a Northeast-10 Conference match-up. Stonehill enters today's action after opening league play in impressive fashion on Tuesday evening with a 101-59 Northeast-10 triumph over 11th-ranked and rival Bentley here at Merkert Gymnasium, as junior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y./Trinity Catholic) led the way for the Skyhawks by netting a career-high 30 points on a 10-of-12 effort from the field that included three three-pointers. Freshman Kelsey Simonds (Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) added 21 points (on a 9-of-10 shooting effort) and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double for the Skyhawks, which also received a career-high 18 points from senior co-captain Bethany Roderigue (Winslow, Maine/Winslow), who canned six of seven three-point attempts. Stonehill blistered the nets at a 63 percent clip for the contest, including a 71 percent from behind the arc to record the second highest single-game team three-pointers total (15) in school history, while adding an 89 percent effort (16-18) at the charity stripe. The Skyhawks broke the century mark in the scoring column for the first time in over 10 seasons while posting their largest margin of victory ever in the 76-game series with the rival Falcons, as Stonehill picked up its first win over Bentley since November 2001. Twelve of the 13 Skyhawks in the lineup scored at least one points on the evening, as Stonehill recorded 22 assists on 35 field goals and held a commanding 39-21 rebounding advantage for the contest. Saint Michael's enters today's action after opening the season with a pair of non-league victories last weekend over Queens (N.Y.) (67-53) and University of the Sciences (64-51) as part of the DoubleTree Tip-Off Classic at the Ross Sports Center in Colchester, Vt.

HONOR ROLL HONOREES: Juniors Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) and Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y./Trinity Catholic) each earned spots on the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll on Monday for their efforts in Stonehill's three victories last week. Kennedy averaged 15 points and seven rebounds on the week, including 21 points and seven boards in the 69-60 win over Molloy, while Collins averaged 13.7 points and 3.7 rebounds, including 17 points in the 79-51 season-opening triumph at St. Thomas Aquinas.

LAST SEASON: Stonehill posted a pair of victories over Saint Michael's during the 2004-2005 campaign, as the Skyhawks notched a 62-57 triumph over the Purple Knights on December 19, 2004 at the Ross Sports Center in Colchester, Vt. before collecting a 68-56 win on January 15, 2005 here at Merkert Gymnasium. Junior Tiffany Huggins (Stoughton, Mass./Brockton) netted 11 points and eight rebounds in the December victory for Stonehill, which received 17 points and eight boards from Rachael Wile in the January triumph.

THE SERIES: Today's contest marks the 46th meeting between Stonehill and Saint Michael's, and the Skyhawks hold a 37-8 advantage over the Purple Knights in the all-time series.

THE SKYHAWKS: Collins leads Stonehill in scoring at 17.8 ppg, while junior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) follows at 13 ppg. Simonds is next at 10.8 ppg and leads the Skyhawks on the boards at 7.8 caroms per contest, while sophomore Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine/Mount Ararat) is also in double figures for Stonehill at 10 ppg.

THE PURPLE KNIGHTS: Junior Dani Rayner leads Saint Michael's in scoring at 17 ppg, while senior Brigid Hegarty follows at 12 ppg. Sophomore Allison Dunn is next at 10 ppg, while junior Jevy Rayner leads the Purple Knights on the boards at 7.5 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 a 76-44

(.633) 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, is 5-1 during her career against Saint Michael's.

HEAD COACH JENNIFER NIEBLING: Jennifer Niebling is in her third season as Head Women's Basketball Coach at Saint Michael's College. A 1993 graduate of Vermont, Niebling has compiled an overall mark of 21-34 (.382) during her tenure with the Purple Knights, and she is assisted by Kristen Shaeffer. Niebling is 0-3 during her career against Stonehill.

THE CENTURY MARK: Tuesday's 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.

BEHIND THE BENTLEY NUMBERS: Stonehill's 58-first half points in Tuesday's 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 652-252 (.721) 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 50-1 in its last 51 contests when holding an opponent to 59 or fewer points after Tuesday's win over Adelphi, a streak that dates back to February 2001.

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 135-35 (.794) at Merkert Gymnasium.

SKYHAWK TALK: Collins is the first Skyhawk to score 30 points in a game since Kristen McDonnell turned the trick on January 20, 2003 at PaceStonehill has matched its best start since November 2001 when the Skyhawks were also 4-0After 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 Tuesday's triumph over BentleyThe Skyhawks became the third team ever to reach the 100-point plateau against the FalconsTuesday's triumph 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 The Skyhawks are 20-2 (.909) in non-conference play in Brown's first four-plus seasonsStonehill has posted 3-0 starts in each of its five campaigns under Brown, who has compiled a 17-1 (.944) mark during the month of NovemberStonehill's 8-1 start last winter was its second in three seasonsStonehill has won 61 of its last 91 contests (.670) 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 heads to Manchester, N.H. on Wednesday, November 30th to take on Saint Anselm in a Northeast-10 outing, as tip-off at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium is set for 5:30 p.m. EST. The Skyhawks return to Merkert Gymnasium on Saturday, December 3rd to host LeMoyne in a Northeast-10 match-up that tips-off at 1:30 p.m. EST.