Junior Asia Ewing posted her 12th career double-double to lead the Skyhawks tonight with 14 points and ten boards. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Skyhawks head into postseason winners of six straight and nine of ten
MANCHESTER, N.H. (February 26, 2013) – Stonehill College, who moved up three spots to 11th in this week's USA TODAY Sports/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II poll, closed out the regular season winners of six straight and nine of its last ten after posting a 57-47 victory over Saint Anselm College in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium tonight.
Stonehill (23-3, 19-3 NE-10) now awaits the winner of Friday's NE-10 Tournament first round matchup between tenth-seeded Merrimack College (15-11, 11-11 NE-10) and seventh-seeded Pace University (14-12, 12-10 NE-10) when it hosts a quarterfinal clash at Merkert Gymnasium on Sunday, March 3, at 3 p.m. Saint Anselm closes out its season with a 4-22 record overall, including a 1-21 mark in NE-10 play, having dropped its last 17 games dating back to December 6.
Junior forward Asia Ewing (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) led Stonehill with her fourth double-double of the season (12th career) as she posted 14 points and ten rebounds to go with two blocked shots and two steals. Sophomore Tori Faieta (Lynn, Mass./Saint Mary's) was among three Skyhawks with 12 points as she made 6-of-7 shots from the field, with nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Junior Mary Louise Dixon (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) added 12 points, seven assists and five boards, while sophomore Amy Pelletier (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) chipped in 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range, in 28 minutes off the bench.
Sophomore Tori Faieta added 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, nine rebounds and three blocks. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Senior Curran Leighton (Dover, N.H./Dover) notched a double-double to lead the way for Saint Anselm with a game-high matching 16 points and game-best 11 rebounds (seven offensive), three assists, three steals and two blocked shots as he made 7-of-14 shot from the field, including 1-for-2 from three-point range. Junior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) also netted 16 points on 7-of-17 shooting, with four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Stonehill finished shooting 37.5-percent (21-for-56) from the field after hitting at 54.5% (12-22) in the first half to build an 11 point (33-22) halftime lead, but were held to 26.5% (9-34) over the final 20 minutes. The Skyhawks connected on 7-of-22 (31.8%) three-pointers, including 5-11 (45.5%) in the first half, and made 8-of-10 (80%) free-throws. Stonehill registered a 41-34 rebounding edge and saw its bench outscore the Saint Anselm reserves 14-2. The Hawks shot 35.6% (21-for-59) from the field, including 1-for-5 (20%) from beyond the arc, and converted 4-of-9 (44.4%) free-throws.
The game was back and forth with neither team leading by more than three points over the opening 15 minutes until Stonehill caught fire with a 14-2 run to open a 13 point margin (33-20) with 27-seconds left before halftime after back to back three-pointers from Dixon and Pelletier. Dixon had five points in all during that stretch, while Ewing chipped in four.
Stonehill settled for an 11 point (33-22) halftime lead and after Saint Anselm junior Meg Morrissey (South Kingstown, R.I./South Kingstown) opened the second half scoring, the Skyhawks were able to pad their lead even further. A 13-2 Skyhawks spurt pushed the lead to 20 (46-26) after a Pelletier three with 13:38 remaining. Sophomore Jamie Panton (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) also canned a three during that stretch for Stonehill.
Stonehill's lead peaked at 22 (50-28) on a Ewing jumper with 11:58 to play, but Saint Anselm had one last run left in it. The Hawks scored the next 14 points to draw back within eight (50-42) with 6:30 remaining after four straight points from Leighton. The Skyhawks held and regained a 12 point lead (57-45) on a Faieta basket with three minutes left and despite not scoring the rest of the way, didn't let Saint Anselm back within ten and clinched the victory.
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