Collins Scores 13 Points And Grabs Nine Rebounds, Huggins And Driscoll Combine For 22 Points And 16 Boards As Women's Basketball Gets Back On Track With 61-53 Northeast-10 Triumph At Southern New Hampshire

February 15, 2007

STONEHILL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Thursday, February 15, 2007

SNHU Fieldhouse, Manchester, N.H.

FINAL: STONEHILL 61, SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 53

MANCHESTER, N.H.-- Senior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y.) scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead three players in double figures and became the 11th player in school history to eclipse the 1,300 career point plateau in leading Stonehill to a 61-53 Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball victory over Southern New Hampshire Thursday evening at the SNHU Fieldhouse.

The visiting Skyhawks (18-7, 13-7 Northeast-10) jumped out to a 14-3 advantage out of the gate and enjoyed an eight point lead for most of the first half before the host Penmen (5-21, 3-18 Northeast-10) scored the final six points before intermission to trail by just two (24-22) at the break. Southern New Hampshire capped its 11-0 run by netting the first five points of the second half, including a conventional three-point play by junior Sara Tucker (Red Hook, N.Y.), to take a 27-24 edge, but Stonehill regained the lead for good with an 11-2 run of its own that was capped by a lay-in by senior Tiffany Huggins (Stoughton, Mass.) with 16:02 remaining for a 35-29 Skyhawk advantage. The visitors built their lead to as many as 12 points midway through the final 20 minutes of action, as the Penmen got no closer than five points on a pair of occasions in the final minute of play.

Huggins added 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the win for Stonehill, which also received 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench from junior Meghan Driscoll (Bridgewater, Mass.). Senior Kim Morast (Bridgewater, Mass.) chipped in with nine points for the Skyhawks, who also received six points and five rebounds from senior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y.) as well as six points from freshman Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y.). The visitors shot 45 percent from the field, including a 52 percent clip in the second half alone, while holding a 36-28 rebounding advantage and forcing 23 turnovers in claiming their 26th win in 32 series meetings between the schools.

Tucker was one of three players to finish with 11 points in the setback for Southern New Hampshire, as freshman Ashara Carrington (Marblehead, Mass.) added 11 points and seven rebounds while sophomore Alyssa Whitney (Somerville, Mass.) also collected 11 points for the Penmen, who shot 43 percent from the field for the contest.

Stonehill hosts Assumption in a Northeast-10 outing on Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium beginning at 1:30 p.m., while Southern New Hampshire hosts LeMoyne in its Northeast-10 finale on Monday evening at the SNHU Fieldhouse beginning at 5:30 p.m.