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| Kelsey Simonds had her sixth double double of the season and her second straight game with 13 rebounds in the 63-45 win over Southern Connecticut. |
No. 6 Skyhawks Survive Turnovers, Post 63-45 Win
Easton, Mass. - The interior combination of Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.) and Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.) controlled a turnover-filled contest to the tune of 38 points and 16 rebounds as No. 6 Stonehill improved to 8-1 with a 63-45 win over visiting Southern Connecticut on Tuesday evening at Merkert Gymnasium.
Tighe started the contest strong, scoring 14 of her 18 points in the first half, while Simonds dominated the second stanza where she registered 16 of her game-high 20 as the duo shot a combined 16-for-26 from the field.
Stonehill held the Owls to just 29 percent shooting for the contest but the visitors kept themselves alive thanks to a season-high 34 Skyhawk turnovers which resulted in 28 Southern Connecticut points.
With Simonds and Tighe leading the way, however, Stonehill outscored the Owls 44-20 in the painted area and held a 15-5 edge in second chance points.
Southern Connecticut stayed close early on, but the Skyhawks began to pull away midway through the first half following seven straight points from Tighe, giving Stonehill a 19-9 lead.
After 7-0 run by the Owls themselves, the lead grew back to double-digits before a Jaqueline Johannes triple as the first half wound down made the score 32-24 at the intermission.
Stonehill then opened the second half on a game-clinching 12-0 spurt that featured six layups and pushed their advantage to 20 at 44-24.
That would be the theme of the final 20 minutes as the Skyhawks connected on 13 of their 26 second half shots - 12 of which were layups and the other a deep three from Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y.).
The Owls would get no closer than 16 the rest of the way as starters Logan Lentz and Sarah Schicher combined to go 2-for-20 from the field.
Freshman Lauren Allen led the way for Southern Connecticut with 14 points and six steals, while Johannes chipped in with 10 points, seven rebounds and seven steals.
Both Simonds and Tighe added 13 rebounds to their scoring totals to collect their sixth and second double-doubles respectively, of the season.
Methven finished with six points, four rebounds and a career-high eights assists, while Steph Pintal (Nashua, N.H.) added four points, four assists, three steals and two rebounds.
The Skyhawks, who don't return to action until an away contest at Adelphi on December 22, stand at 6-1 in Northeast-10 action and alone in first place.