Collins Scores 16 Points, Morast Chips In With 11 Points As Women's Basketball Reaches 20-Win Plateau For Fourth Time In Five Years And 19th Time Overall With 62-45 Northeast-10 Triumph At Saint Anselm, Skyhawks To Face Merrimack In Opening Round Of Conference Tournament

February 20, 2007

STONEHILL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Stoutenburgh Gymnasium, Manchester, N.H.

FINAL: STONEHILL 62, SAINT ANSELM 45

MANCHESTER, N.H.-- Senior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y.) scored 16 points, while fellow senior Kim Morast (Bridgewater, Mass.) added 11 points and four assists as Stonehill reached the 20-win plateau for the second straight season and for the 19th time in the program's 36-year history with a 62-45 Northeast-10 Conference victory over Saint Anselm in the regular season finale for both squads Tuesday evening at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.

The visiting Skyhawks (20-7, 15-7 Northeast-10), who have won 20 or more games in four of the last five seasons of play and reached the plateau for the 12th time since 1991, raced out to a 26-8 advantage in just under 15 minutes of action before settling for a 31-17 edge at the break. The host Hawks, who wrapped up their season at 7-20 overall and 4-18 in Northeast-10 action, whittled their deficit down to five points (38-33) with a 16-7 run over the first 8:38 following intermission, but Stonehill iced matters by scoring the game's next 14 points over a five minute stretch, extending its lead to 19 points (52-33) on a conventional three-point play by Morast with 6:47 remaining, and Saint Anselm got no closer than 15 points in the closing minutes of action.

Junior Meghan Driscoll (Bridgewater, Mass.) added seven points and nine rebounds in the win for the Skyhawks, who also received seven points from freshman Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y.). Seniors Tiffany Huggins (Stoughton, Mass.) and Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y.) each netted six points for Stonehill, which shot 37 percent from the field and held a commanding 22-8 scoring advantage at the foul line while taking advantage of 23 Hawk turnovers to post their ninth straight victory in the series between the two schools dating back to January 2002.

Junior Cassaundra Thorpe (Portsmouth, N.H.) led all scorers with 20 points and six rebounds in the setback for Saint Anselm, which also received 10 points and five caroms from sophomore Meredith Amyot (Ashford, Conn.). The Hawks shot 32 percent from the field, making only one of 11 attempts from behind the arc, despite holding a 42-32 rebounding edge, including a 16-8 advantage on the offensive glass alone.

Stonehill will be seeded fifth in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference tournament and will host 12th-seeded Merrimack (7-20) in first round play of this year's championships on Sunday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium beginning at 2:00 p.m. The Skyhawks swept both meetings from the Warriors during the regular season by an 81-64 in December in North Andover and by a 75-54 margin in January in Easton.