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Erika Stupinski returned to the lineup in the 58-47 win over St. Michael's and finished with 11 points and six assists. |
North Easton, Mass. - Already the best defensive team in the Northeast-10 in terms of points allowed, No. 18 Stonehill added more credentials to its defensive resume with a strong effort in a 57-48 win over visiting St. Michael's on Saturday afternoon.
The Skyhawks clamped down and held the Purple Knights to 34 percent shooting and scored 18 points off of their 30 turnovers in improving to 12-2 overall and 8-1 in the Northeast-10.
St. Michael's never led after Stonehill raced out to an early 9-2 lead and Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.) turned away four shots with monstrous blocks early on. The bulge grew to as many as 14 in the first half before a Lyndsey Moore triple cut the Skyhawk advantage to 30-19 at halftime.
The Purple Knights closed within seven at 32-25 after a short jumper from Michelle Otey less than three minutes into the second stanza. The Skyhawks got their offense untracked for a short period when Simonds nailed a jumper and freshman Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H.) followed up a Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.) miss with an inside putback.
Stonehill's lead was down to four at 43-39 after an Amy Pitchers fast break jumper but the Skyhawks then embarked on a back-breaking 12-2 run, which featured five points, a rebound and a block from Simonds and two assists from McWhirter, who first found Daryl Cioffi (New Milford, N.J.) for an open three pointer and then a cutting Simonds for an inside score.
The Skyhawks held a 39-33 edge in rebounds and a 14-8 difference in free throws made.
Simonds finished with a game-high 14 points, eight rebounds and a season-high five blocks. Joining her in double-figures were Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine) who added 11 points and six assists, and Tighe who fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards.
Meghan Driscoll (Bridgewater, Mass.) totaled four points and six rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass and Cioffi chipped in with five points, three rebounds and four steals.
Alexis Keller was the lone Purple Knight in double figures with 12 points and five rebounds.
Stonehill returns to action on Thursday when it travels to Merrimack for a date with the Warriors. The tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.