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| Megan Methven came off the bench to score 14 points, going 4-for-6 on three-pointers. |
Rousseau's Threes Leads No. 4 Stonehill Past Hawks
Easton, Mass. - Sophomore Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine) dropped in a career-high six three-pointers en route to 20 points to offset a monster game from St. Anselm freshman Megan Howard as No. 4 Stonehill closed the game on a 26-10 run to pull away from the visiting Hawks on Thursday evening at Merkert Gymnasium.
The Skyhawks, who have now won nine straight games, made 11 three-pointers as a team and improved to 13-1 overall and 8-1 in the Northeast-10.
All ten of Rousseau's field goal attempts came from behind the arc and she added three rebounds and three assists to her totals in 35 minutes of action.
Howard, meanwhile, finished the night with 20 points and 17 rebounds - more than half of the Hawks rebounding total (31).
With the score tied at 42 apiece with a little more than 13 minutes remaining, the Skyhawks embarked on the game-changing run - a burst that included a St. Anselm scoreless streak of nearly four minutes.
In the opening moments of the contest, it looked like a sure win for Stonehill who opened the game on an 11-0 run. The Hawks scrambled back to tie the game at 19 all, but Stonehill countered with a 12-2 run highlighted by a pair of Rousseau triples.
The Skyhawks settled for a 34-29 lead at intermission but St. Anselm opened the second half scoring 13 of the first 18 points to even the game.
The game, which saw the teams combine to commit 43 turnovers, was Stonehill's 11th straight victory over the Hawks, who fell to 3-10 overall and 1-7 in the Northeast-10 following the loss.
Joining Rousseau in double figures were Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.) and Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y.). Simonds finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and five steals, while Methven connected on four three pointers on her way to 14 points off the bench.
Steph Pintal (Nashua, N.H.), meanwhile, had six points and a career-high seven assists in 37 minutes for the purple and white which had 18 assists on their 22 baskets.
Justine Lyons came off the bench to score 18 points on 7-for-16 shooting to aid the Hawks cause, but no other St. Anselm player scored more than five points.
Stonehill shot 44 percent from the floor and held St. Anselm to 37 percent - just 34 percent in the second half, while forcing 23 turnovers.
The Skyhawks, already the nation's best free throw shooting team, did see their consecutive free throws made streak end at 33 in the second half. For the game, Stonehill was 13-for-16 from the charity stripe.
The 52 points scored by the Hawks marks the eighth time this season the Skyhawks have kept an opponent below 60 points.
Stonehill will look to push its winning streak to 10 games when it travels to LeMoyne for a 1 p.m. start in Syracuse on Saturday.