Easton, Massachusetts, freshman forward finishes regular season strong
NE10 Women's Basketball Weekly Report
EASTON, Mass. (March 2, 2019) – Stonehill College freshman forward Kayla Raymond wrapped up the regular season by picking up her ninth Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Week award.
Raymond averaged 21 points on 54.3-percent shooting (25-for-46), including 9-for-18 (50%) from three-point distance, as Stonehill clinched homecourt advantage for this weekend's NE10 Quarterfinals after closing out the regular season with two wins over its final three games. She also contributed 4.3 rebounds and blocked shot and a steal per game, while converting 4-of-5 (80%) free-throws to close out the regular season. She was the lone Stonehill player in double-figures at Merrimack College last Wednesday, notching the first 30-point game of her collegiate career as she scored 24 of her season-high 32 points in the second half, finishing 14-of-24 shooting from the floor, including 4-for-9 from three-point distance, while adding four rebounds, an assist and steal. Her game-winning basket with 0.3-seconds remaining at Assumption College on Saturday (82-80) capped a 23-point afternoon. She scored 14 of her team-high 23 in the first half, finishing 7-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-7 from three-point distance, and converted all four of her free-throw attempts to go with four rebounds, an assist and blocked shot. Raymond capped the week with eight points, five boards, two steals and two blocked shots in Tuesday's 60-48 triumph over regionally-ranked Saint Anselm College in a battle for second place in the Northeast Division.
Raymond has started 21 of her 23 games played this season for Stonehill and leads the team with 16.1 points per contest (8th NE10), shooting 49.5-percent from the field (13th), including 39.1% (34-for-87) from three-point distance (8th), and converting 81.1% (30-37) of her free-throws. She is also contributing 5.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.7 blocked shots (6th) and a steal in 23.5 minutes per game. Raymond's 370 points this season ranks fourth among Stonehill freshmen in program history, 80-points shy of Stonehill and NE10 Hall of Famer Sue Patchett, '97 who netted a program-record 450 points in her first collegiate season in 1993-94.
Stonehill is 10-4 this season when Raymond is its top scorer, scoring in double-figures in 19 of her 23 games played, including 12 of 14 to round out the regular season. She has been the Skyhawks top rebounder 11 times, with the team 9-2 in those games, and has produced 20-plus points seven times, including her first 30-point game at Merrimack last week. Raymond previously earned NE10 Rookie of the Week honors on November 12 and 26, December 3 and 20, January 7 and 21 and February 4 and 18, earning the recognition nine of the 14 weeks over the course of the regular season, including three times in February.
Stonehill (19-8, 14-7 NE10), ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Division II East Regional rankings for the second-straight week, is seeded second in the Northeast Division for this week's Northeast-10 Tournament. The Skyhawks will host Southwest Division No. 3 University of New Haven (17-11, 10-10 NE10) for an NE10 Quarterfinal at Merkert Gymnasium on Sunday at 3 p.m. Admission is $8.00 for adults, $5.00 for children and senior citizens and $1.00 for students from participating NE10 institutions, with Stonehill students being admitted free of charge with their HillCard.
The winner of tomorrow's NE10 Quarterfinal will advance to Thursday's semifinal round to face the tomorrow's winner between NE #4 Merrimack College (20-9, 12-9 NE10) and SW #1 Le Moyne College (21-5, 15-5 NE10).
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