Raymond netted a season-high 29 points for the second-straight game (PHOTO BY Peter Buehner)

Raymond leads Skyhawks with second-straight 29-point outing

ALBANY, N.Y. (February 1, 2020) – Stonehill College, ranked No. 7 in this week's D2SIDA East Region poll, cruised to an 86-41 victory over The College of Saint Rose in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action to close out the cross-divisional portion of its NE10 slate at Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium this afternoon.

Stonehill clinches a spot in the NE10 Tournament for the 39^th time in program history with its win and Franklin Pierce University's 64-59 loss at the University of New Haven this afternoon. The Skyhawks, who are the lone NE10 women's basketball team to participate in every NE10 Tournament, is now seven games in front of Franklin Pierce with six games to play. The NE10 Tournament commences with first round action on Friday, February 28. 

Leaders

Stonehill

Kayla Raymond Sophomore, Forward: Scored 22 of her season-high matching 29 points (9-for-12, 5-for-6 threes) in the first, including 16 in the first quarter alone, with eight rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot.

Gabrielle Reuter Senior, Forward: 12 points (6-for-6), seven rebounds.

Emily Bramanti Sophomore, Guard: 10 points (3-for-4 threes), six assists, two rebounds.

Saint Rose

Becca Townes Sophomore, Guard: 11 points (5-for-12), three rebounds, two steals.

Takora McIntyre Senior, Guard: Seven points, four rebounds, five steals.

Leah Dollard Senior, Forward: Seven points (3-for-6), six rebounds and a steal.

How it Happened

• Reuter made all six of her shots for 12 points and seven rebounds (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard)

  Stonehill grabbed control early, using Raymond's 16 first quarter points to open a 14-point lead (24-10) after ten minutes of play. The Skyhawks took the lead for good with a 13-0 run, including 11 from Raymond, to turn an early four-point deficit into a nine-point lead (13-4) four minutes into the game.
• Stonehill scored the final eight points of the opening quarter, keyed by three-pointers from Raymond and junior Madison Seymour to take its 14-point cushion (24-10) into the second.
• Stonehill's lead wouldn't dip inside double figures the rest of the way, extending its lead to 19 (31-12) after a jumper by sophomore Megan Hill less than three minutes into the second quarter.
• Stonehill closed the half with another 10-0 run, led by four points from Bramanti and capped by a Raymond three-pointer, to open a 29-point halftime advantage (48-19).
• Stonehill opened the second half with a 13-4 run to stretch its lead to 38 (61-23) after a three-pointer from senior Grace Carter four minutes into the third quarter.
• Stonehill's third quarter lead peaked at 45 (71-26) after a Hill layup with a minute remaining and then grew to as much 50 on three occasions in the final frame.

Noteworthy

• Stonehill finishes off the cross-divisional portion of its schedule with a 6-1 mark against the NE10's Southwest Division, including wins over Division-leading Adelphi University and playoff contenders Le Moyne College and University of New Haven.
• Stonehill moves into a tie for second in the NE10 Northeast Division standings with rival Bentley University, a game behind first place Saint Anselm College, with six divisional games remaining.
• Stonehill finished shooting 54.2-percent (32-for-59) from the field in the contest, including 14-for-31 (45.2%) from three-point distance, connecting on 9-of-13 shots (69.2%) in the third quarter and 9-of-15 (60%) in the second when it broke the game wide open.
• Raymond nets a season-high 29 points for the second-straight game after setting the season-best in Tuesday's win over American International College. She was outscoring Saint Rose by herself until deep into the third quarter.
• Raymond has now scored in double figures in seven-straight games, posting 20-plus points in three-straight and four of five. She has netted 20-plus points four time this season overall and 12 games in her career, with Stonehill improving to 5-1 this season when she is its top scorer, including a 16-8 mark for her career.
• Stonehill is now 9-3 away from Merkert Gymnasium this season, with its fifth-straight road win.

Up Next

Stonehill (14-5, 10-3 NE10) is back in action on Wednesday, when it hosts Bentley University for an NE10 Northeast Divisional battle and Hope Happens Here Mental Health Awareness Game at 5:30 p.m. Saint Rose (7-13, 2-11 NE10) hosts Le Moyne College on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

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