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| Freshman Cori O'Kane had five points, three assists, two rebounds and two blocks in the 65-54 win over New Haven. |
No. 8 Skyhawks Pull Away In Second Half
West Haven, Conn. - Behind a 21-point, seven rebound effort from senior captain Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.), No. 8 Stonehill shut down Northeast-10 newcomer New Haven in the second half to post a 65-54 win at Charger Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.
The Chargers, playing their first league game as a member of the Northeast-10, shot an icy 7-of-36 in the final 20 minutes and just 29 percent for the entire contest.
The Skyhawks led by as many as 11 in the first half before New Haven picked up the defensive pressure and eventually took a 34-32 lead into the lockerroom at halftime.
Things changed in the second stanza as Stonehill outscored the hosts 33-20. For the first 13 minutes of the half, UNH made only three baskets and had a stretch of nine minutes where they didn't record a basket. During that time, Stonehill turned a two point halftime deficit into an eight-point advantage at 53-45 with less than six minutes to go courtesy of a Cori O'Kane (Pocasset, Mass.) feed to Tighe.
Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.) registered her second straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine) had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.
New Haven held an edge on the boards (41-36) but Stonehill made up for it by turning 19 Charger turnovers into 22 points. The Skyhawks had turnover issues of their own as they committed 22 miscues but a stout defense which allowed UNH to make just 4-of-18 from behind the arc proved to be the difference in the win.
The Chargers were paced by Lauren Hood's 14 points and six rebounds and Nikki Carroll's 10 points and seven boards.
For the second straight contest, Stonehill did an excellent defensive job against their opponent's starting guards. Helin Marte, who made the game-winning shot in UNH's upset win over No. 10 Holy Family last weekend, was held to 1-for-7, while her backcourt mate Briiana Rende was just 1-for-9.
Stonehill now 3-0 on the season returns to action on Saturday when they play host to No. 4 Franklin Pierce at Merkert Gymnasium. Game time is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.