Huggins Scores 18 Points, Driscoll Adds Double-Double Effort Of 10 Points And 10 Rebounds As 16th-Ranked Women's Basketball Remains Unbeaten With 68-50 Northeast-10 Victory Over UMass Lowell

November 29, 2006

STONEHILL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Merkert Gymnasium, Easton, Mass.

FINAL: STONEHILL 68, UMASS LOWELL 50

EASTON, Mass.-- Senior Tiffany Huggins (Stoughton, Mass.) scored 18 points, while junior Meghan Driscoll (Bridgewater, Mass.) added her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead 16th-ranked Stonehill to a 68-50 Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball victory over UMass Lowell Wednesday evening at Merkert Gymnasium.

The host Skyhawks (6-0, 2-0 Northeast-10) broke free of a one-point lead (17-16) midway through the first half with a 15-6 run over a seven minute stretch to take a 10-point cushion (32-22) before settling for a 34-28 advantage at the break, but the visiting River Hawks (1-3, 0-3 Northeast-10) closed that gap to three points (36-33) by scoring five of the first seven points following intermission. Stonehill then went on a 14-4 run over a four-plus minute stretch to take a 50-37 edge with 11:19 remaining on a Huggins lay-in and maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the contest, as UMass Lowell got no closer than 11 points in the final 9:35 of action.

Senior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y.) added 15 points in the win for the Skyhawks, who also received a career-high 10 rebounds from sophomore Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.). Junior Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine) scored six points, grabbed six rebounds, dished off five assists and recorded four steals on the night for Stonehill, which also received six points each from Tighe and freshman Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y.). The hosts shot 38 percent from the field and canned eight three-pointers while holding a 46-35 rebounding advantage, including a commanding 21-12 edge on the offensive glass alone in posting their 20th win in 30 series meetings between the two schools.

Junior Liron Asher (Givataim, Israel) led UMass Lowell in the scoring column with 13 points, while sophomore Antonnea Robinson (West Haven, Conn.) added 11 points for the River Hawks, who also received eight points from junior Tonya Perry (Somerville, Mass.). Sophomore Revital Carmon (Bat-Yam, Israel) grabbed nine rebounds for the visitors, who shot 39 percent from the field but hurt themselves with 19 turnovers that were turned into 14 Skyhawk points.

Stonehill heads to Keene, N.H. on Saturday afternoon to take on Franklin Pierce in a Northeast-10 outing that begins at 1:30 p.m., while UMass Lowell hosts Bryant in a Northeast-10 match-up on Saturday afternoon in Lowell, Mass. beginning at 2:00 p.m.