Collins Scores 14 Points And Grabs Eight Rebounds, Huggins Adds Double-Double Effort Of 11 Points And 10 Boards As 15th-Ranked Women's Basketball Picks Up Fourth Straight Victory With 55-45 Non-League Triumph At Dowling

December 20, 2006

STONEHILL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Eastern Campus Court, Oakdale, N.Y.

FINAL: STONEHILL 55, DOWLING 45

OAKDALE, N.Y.-- Senior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y.) scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds as 15th-ranked Stonehill collected its fourth straight victory with a 55-45 non-league women's college basketball triumph over Dowling Wednesday afternoon on the Eastern Campus Court.

The visiting Skyhawks (11-2) trailed by 10 points on a pair of occasions in the opening 20 minutes of play before slicing their deficit to five (27-22) at the break, and the host Golden Lions (5-4) built their edge to seven at 33-26 with 16:33 remaining before Stonehill used an 8-0 run over a 2:22 stretch, capped by a three-pointer by senior Kim Morast (Bridgewater, Mass.), to take a 34-33 lead. Dowling regained a one-point cushion with just over 13 minutes to play, but a lay-in by junior Meghan Driscoll (Bridgewater, Mass.) on the ensuing Skyhawk possession gave the visitors the lead for good, as Stonehill used a decisive 14-2 run over a five-plus minute stretch to build a double-digit advantage at 48-37 with 7:45 to play on a lay-in by senior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y.), and Dowling got no closer than seven points in the closing minutes of action.

Collins, who went over the 1,100 career point plateau with her scoring effort, was joined in double figures by fellow senior Tiffany Huggins (Stoughton, Mass.), who registered a double-double effort of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Morast and Kennedy each chipped in with nine points for the winners, who also received nine rebounds from sophomore Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.). Stonehill shot 37 percent from the field and connected for six three-pointers while holding 40-30 rebounding advantage, including a 16-9 edge on the offensive glass alone, as the Skyhawks improved to 37-5 all-time against East Coast Conference foes in the first meeting between the two teams since 1998.

Senior Natasha Page and junior Kristina Mitchell each netted 10 points in the setback for Dowling, which also received six points and eight rebounds from senior Teelah Grimes and seven boards from senior Denice Frohman. The Golden Lions shot 36 percent from the field overall but were hurt by 28 turnovers.

Stonehill will be idle until the New Year when the Skyhawks host Saint Anselm in a Northeast-10 Conference outing on Wednesday, January 3rd at Merkert Gymnasium beginning at 5:30 p.m., while Dowling hosts Millersville in a non-league match-up on Saturday, December 30th at 4:00 p.m.