Brown earns WBCA East Region Coach of the Year honors for the third time in her career in leading the Skyhawks to a third Elite Eight trip in program history. (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix) |
Collects honors for third time in leading Skyhawks back to Elite Eight
WBCA Announces NCAA Division II National and Region Coaches of the Year
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (March 19, 2018) – Stonehill College women's basketball head coach Trisha Brown has been named the United States Marine Corps Division II East Region Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the organization announced in conjunction with the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Brown, who was named the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career last month, collects WBCA Regional Coach of the Year honors for the third time in her career after also being named in 2008 and 2015. She has led Stonehill back to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time since 1995 and third time in program history overall with a 29-3 record overall – one win shy of the program record set in 1995. The Skyhawks posted a 20-1 record in the NE10 to clinch its ninth NE10 regular season championship with a program-record for Conference wins.
Stonehill is ranked No. 11 in the most recent WBCA and D2SIDA Top 25 polls and earned its 24th NCAA Tournament bid in program history as the top seed at the East Regional, hosted at Merkert Gymnasium last week. The Skyhawks won their third East Region championship in program history with a 71-61 victory over the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia to advance to the Elite Eight. It marks the 25th time in program history Stonehill has reached or surpassed 20 wins in a season.
Stonehill has returned to the Elite Eight and the top of the NE10 standings by producing one of the top all-around teams in the country. The Skyhawks, who posted a perfect 18-0 record at home this season, rank second in the NE10 for scoring offense (70.3 ppg) and third in scoring defense (57.4 ppg), leading the Conference in field goal percentage defense (.339), three-point field goal percentage defense (.254) and blocked shots per game (6.8). The Skyhawks also lead the NE10 in free-throw percentage (.766) and assists per game (18.6), ranking second in rebound margin (+7.1) and third in field goal percentage (.422). Stonehill leads Division II in blocked shots per game, ranking second in three-point percentage defense and third in field goal percentage defense, sixth in assists per game and 17th in scoring defense.
Brown has led Stonehill to a 344-160 record (.683) over her 17 seasons at the helm, including a 245-123 (.668) clip in NE10 play. She has guided the Skyhawks to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as four NE10 championships and a spot in the NE10 Tournament all 17 years. Brown's career winning percentage is good for 30th among active coaches in Division II and 41st all-time in Division II. She also ranks 34th among active Division II coaches for wins.
Senior Kelly Martin (Scituate, Massachusetts/Scituate) is the second WBCA All-American under Brown over her 17 seasons, with eight WBCA honorable mention All-Americans, including senior Samantha Hyslip (Westford, Massachusetts/Westford Academy). She has also coached two NE10 Players of the Year, two NE-10 Rookies of the Year and two NE10 Defensive Players of the Year with 28 All-NE10 selections and seven NE10 All-Rookie honorees.
Stonehill is back in action tonight when it opens the NCAA Elite Eight against No. 12/23 Indiana University of Pennsylvania for a national quarterfinal at 9:30 p.m. Admission is $15.00 for adults and $8.00 for students, children and senior citizens, with children aged 6 and under admitted free of charge. All-session passes are available for $45 for adults and $25 for children and senior citizens. The national quarterfinal round games will be broadcast live via ncaa.com, with the national semifinal and championship contests broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. Stonehill will host a viewing party for all games at The Hill in Roche Dining Commons.
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