Sophomore Ashley Gendron posted her first career double-double with career highs of 14 points and ten rebounds tonight. (PHOTO BY Bert Lane)

Skyhawks shoot 54-percent, build 20 point lead by halftime for fourth-straight win
Gendron leads the way with first career double-double

EASTON, Mass. (November 20, 2012) – Stonehill College scored the first 13 points of the game en route to a 20 point halftime lead and never looked back in rolling to a 70-47 victory over Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.

Stonehill collected assists on 22 of its 27 field goals on the night and finished shooting 54-percent (27-for-50) from the field, including 7-for-12 (58.3%) from three-point range, while dominating the glass for a 46-22 rebounding margin. The Skyhawks shot 51.7% (15-for-29) in building its 20 point (32-12) halftime lead and sealed the win with 57.1% (12-21) shooting in the second half, including 5-for-8 (62.5%) from beyond the arc.

Sophomore Ashley Gendron (Auburn, N.H./Manchester Memorial) came off the bench to notch her first career double-double as she posted career-highs of 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field while converting all four free-throw attempts to go with ten rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes. Classmate Tori Faieta (Lynn, Mass./Saint Mary's) added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and eight rebounds with two blocked shots and two assists. Junior Asia Ewing (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) contributed 13 points, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, five rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore Tori Faieta added 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. (PHOTO BY Bert Lane)

Sophomore Amy Pelletier (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) chipped in ten points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 2-for-3 from deep, while junior Mary Louise Dixon (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) posted nine points, a season-high eight boards and three assists. Sophomore Jamie Panton (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) dished out a career-best seven assists.

Freshman Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass./Fairhaven) paced Franklin Pierce with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field while converting all five free-throws to go with five rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin) also scored 13 points, aided by 3-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc, in 17 minutes off the bench.

Franklin Pierce shot just 31-percent (18-for-58) from the field, including 5-for-29 (17.2%) in the first half. The Raven connected on 4-of-18 (22.2%) three-pointers, including 1-for-10 in the opening frame.

Stonehill never trailed, scoring the first 13 points of the game over the first six minutes and never looked back. Ewing led the opening rush with seven points and the Skyhawks lead wouldn't dip below double figures again. Franklin Pierce closed the gap to ten (15-5) with 12:30 left in the half, but Stonehill outscored the Ravens 15-3 over the next ten minutes to push the lead to 22 (30-8) on a Pelletier layup with 2:18 to go in the frame.

Stonehill took the 20 point lead (32-12) into halftime and quickly extended it to 24 (38-14) after a Faieta jumper 2:09 into the second half. Franklin Pierce trimmed the deficit to 16 (38-22) after a layup from junior Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) with 15:49 remaining.

Dixon and Ewing buried back-to-back three's and Gendron scored a layup to quickly regain a 22 point margin (46-24) for Stonehill. The Skyhawks lead grew to as much as 26 (58-32) on a Panton free-throw with 7:46 left and it never dipped inside 20 the rest of the way.

Stonehill (4-0, 2-0 NE-10), winners of its first four games of the season for the first time since starting 9-0 in 2007-08, is right back in action on Sunday when it hosts the University of Bridgeport, among teams receiving votes in this week's USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll, for a non-conference matchup in Merkert Gym at 1:30 p.m. Franklin Pierce (2-2, 0-2 NE-10) hosts Southern New Hampshire University next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.