Senior Tori Faieta posted her 17th career double-double and moved closer to the 1,000-point plateau in tonight's win. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
Faieta double-double, 57.7-percent second half shooting lead Skyhawks
EASTON, Mass. (November 14, 2014) – Stonehill College, among teams receiving votes in the USA TODAY Sports/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II preseason poll, overcame a slow start with a 57.7-percent shooting effort in the second half to claim an opening night 69-54 triumph over Dominican (N.Y.) College on day one of the 2014 Stonehill Tip-Off Classic at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.
Senior Tori Faieta (Lynn, Massachusetts/Saint Mary's) posted her 17th career double-double to lead Stonehill by finishing with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting and 16 rebounds – just one shy of her career best, two steals and a blocked shot. She is now just 27 points shy of becoming the program's 27th 1,000 point scorer.
Stonehill held a two point (32-30) halftime lead despite 32.1-percent (9-for-28) shooting in the first half, including 1-for-8 (12.5%) from three-point range, while converting at 57.7% (15-for-26) over the final 20 minutes, including 3-for-5 (60%) from long distance. The Skyhawks finished shooting 44.4% (24-54) for the night and held a commanding 50-29 rebounding advantage. Dominican was limited to 34.4-percent (22-for-64) shooting, including 5-for-22 (22.7%) from beyond the arc.
Junior Paige Marshall (Braintree, Massachusetts/Braintree) was among three Stonehill players to join Faieta in double-figures with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, and six rebounds, while senior Amy Pelletier (Beverly, Massachusetts/Bishop Fenwick) added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-for-4 from three-point range, converting both free-throw attempts. Freshman Courtney Walsh (Windham, New Hampshire/Central Catholic) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, draining her lone three-point attempt and both free-throw tries, in her collegiate debut, while classmate Samantha Hyslip (Westford, Massachusetts/Westford Academy) pulled down ten rebounds in her debut.
Junior Paige Marshall added 14 points and six rebounds tonight. (PHOTO BY Emily Reynolds) |
Freshman Rebecca Rabeiro (Midland Park, New Jersey/Midland Park) was the lone Dominican player in double-figures as she came off the bench to score 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting in her collegiate debut with four rebounds and seven steals. Sophomore Shannon McGill (Staten Island, New York/Curtis) added nine points, while classmate Lisa Bouffard (Wallkill, New York/Wallkill Senior) chipped in eight points, four rebounds and two blocked shots.
Dominican took an 11 point lead (24-13) after an 11-2 run over a four minute span following a McGill three-pointer with 8:09 remaining in the first half. The Chargers lead was still 11 (26-15) after a Bouffard layup with 6:49 to go, holding a nine point advantage (30-21) with 4:32 left. Stonehill scored the final 11 points of the half to take the lead (32-30) into halftime, keyed by five points from Faieta and a Marshall three-pointer.
Dominican regained the lead (35-34) after a Bouffard layup 2:01 into the second half, but it would prove to be the Chargers final lead of the night. Stonehill scored the next seven points to take a six point lead (41-35) after a Marshall jumper less than four minutes into the half. The Chargers closed back within a point (41-40) on a Rabeiro layup with 15:18 remaining, but the Skyhawks outscored the guests 21-6 over the next nine minutes to open a 16 point lead and never looked back. Walsh scored the final seven points of the run with a jumper, three-pointer and layup. Dominican wouldn't get any closer than 13 the rest of the way as Stonehill's lead peaked at 18 twice down the stretch.
Stonehill (1-0, 0-0 NE-10) is back in action for day two of the Tip-Off Classic tomorrow when it faces Caldwell University (0-1, 0-0 CACC) tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. The game will come after the formal dedication ceremony of Paula Sullivan Court in Merkert Gym at 12:30 p.m. Dominican (0-1, 0-0 CACC) faces Assumption College (1-0, 0-0 NE-10) in tomorrow's second game at 3:30 p.m.
Assumption squeaked out a 66-64 victory over Caldwell in tonight's second game on a layup by junior Kelly Conley (Ellington, Connecticut/Ellington) with 0.4-seconds to play. She led the Greyhounds with 14 points on 7-of-15 shooting, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Senior Emily Caswell (Wakefield, Rhode Island/The Prout School) led Caldwell with a game-high 24 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, while converting all 12 free-throw attempts, to go with nine rebounds.
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