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Erika Stupinski handed out a season-high 12 assists in the loss to Barry. |
Miami Shores, Fla. - For the first time this season Stonehill dropped back-to-back games, this time a 52-49 defeat to the host Barry Buccaneers in the Skyhawks first game in the Cruzin' Classic at the Health & Sports Center on Wednesday night.
Both teams were coming off of their first losses of the season, with Stonehill having fallen to Bryant last Wednesday and Barry dropping a 59-50 decision to Central Oklahoma on Tuesday night.
The Buccaneers held the Skyhawks to just 49 points, their lowest output of the season and 23 points below their season average. Stonehill shot just 33.3 percent for the game, including just three for 14 from three-point range, making them 9-for-41 in their last two games from behind the arc.
Down 17-16 at halftime, the Skyhawks eventually grabbed a 37-36 lead with a little more than six minutes to play on a Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y.) jumper, but Barry scored six of the next eight points to take control of the contest. Stonehill cut the lead down to one again at 46-45 on a Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.) basket, but the Buccaneers scored two hoops in a row to thwart any thoughts of a comeback.
Simonds scored a game-high 20 points to go a long with five rebounds, ending up as the lone Stonehill player in double figures. Barry's Kia Palmer came off the bench to score 15 of her team-high 16 points in the second half, while Princess Bailey added 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine) handed out a season-high 12 assists for the Skyhawks, who fall to 9-2, while the Buccaneers move to 9-1.
Stonehill returns to action on Thursday when they face Gannon at 8 p.m.