Freshman Mary Louise Dixon flirted with her second triple-double in a week in a half as she led the Skyhawks to a third-straight win with 13 points, ten assists and eight rebounds. (PHOTO BY Bert Lane)

Dixon and McWhirter lead Skyhawks to third straight win

Freshman Mary Louise Dixon (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) engineered the Stonehill offense with yet another near triple-double effort as she notched her second double-double of the year with 13 points and a season-high ten assists to go with eight rebounds, a season-high matching four steals and two blocked shots. She made 4-of-8 shots from the field and converted 4-of-5 free-throw attempts on the night. Senior Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H./New Hampton Prep) led the Skyhawks with 15 points, four assists, two steals and two rebounds, while junior Tania Williams (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward-Melville) came off the bench to collect 13 points, on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and a 3-for-4 effort at the line, five boards and two steals. Freshman Asia Ewing (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) chipped in with a game and season-high matching 11 rebounds to go with nine points and a blocked shot.

Freshman Jessica Kitrys (Parlin, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) led Adelphi with a game-high 16 points, on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Senior Ashley Caiafa (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) added 14 points, four assists, three blocks and three rebounds, while junior Amanda Campusano (Bronx, N.Y./Dewitt Clinton) contributed ten points, shooting 4-for-8 from the field, including 2-of-5 from three-point range, five rebounds and two steals.

Senior Kristen McWhirter scored a team-high 15 points to lead a balanced offensive effort. (PHOTO BY Bert Lane)

Stonehill finished shooting 45.6-percent (26-for-57) from the field, including 46.7% (14-30) in the opening half to build a ten point (34-24) halftime lead. The Skyhawks won the rebounding battle for the fourth time over the last five games after outrebounding just two of their first 13 opponents this season, finishing with a 36-30 advantage today. Adelphi shot 43.4% (23-53) from the field, but just 33.3% (9-27) in the opening half.

Stonehill scored the last six points of the opening half to take a ten point lead (34-24) into halftime. The Skyhawks held Adelphi without a field goal for the last 3:52 of the frame. Stonehill pushed its advantage to 15 (41-26) after a layup from Ewing 2:03 into the second half.

Adelphi drew within nine (43-34) after a Caiafa layup with 13:48 to play, but Stonehill regained a 14 point cushion (48-34) with a McWhirter three-pointer and layup by Dixon with 11:33 remaining. The Panthers wouldn't go quietly, closing within seven (50-43) on a Kitrys layup with 8:47 left. That was as close as they got as the Skyhawks posted a 15-5 run to seal the win and take a 17 point lead (67-50) after two-straight layups from Williams with 1:52 to play. Dixon and McWhirter sparked the run with back-to-back threes.

Stonehill (12-6, 7-6 NE-10) returns to the court on Tuesday when it visits Le Moyne College for a conference matchup at 5:30 p.m. The Skyhawks are home next Saturday to host The College of Saint Rose at 1:30 p.m. Adelphi (7-10, 4-9 NE-10) hosts Franklin Pierce University on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.