Most Outstanding Player Raymond and Shaw fire Skyhawks past NE #2 Saint Anselm
Shaw keyed the Skyhawks championship win with a season-high 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists, earning All-Tournament team honors (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
EASTON, Mass. (March 8, 2020) – Northeast Division top-seeded Stonehill College, ranked No. 25 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and D2SIDA Top 25 polls, connected on 62.5-percent of its three-pointers to shoot its way to its sixth Northeast-10 Conference Championship in program history with an 80-61 triumph over Northeast No. 2 Saint Anselm College on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium this afternoon.
Stonehill (23-5, 16-3 NE10), ranked No. 2 in this week's NCAA Division II East Regional rankings, earns the NE10's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament and will learn its seeding tonight, when the tournament selection show is broadcast live on ncaa.com at 10 p.m. Saint Anselm (21-7, 15-4 NE10), ranked No. 4 in the most recent NCAA East Regional rankings, will also hear its name called in tonight's selection show as it looks to defend its East Region Championship.
Sophomore Kayla Raymond was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after she averaged 18 points on 46.7-percent shooting, including 36.8% (7-for-19) from three-point distance, 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals over Stonehill's three NE10 Tournament wins. She is joined on the All-Tournament team from Stonehill by seniors Kelsey Shaw and Gabrielle Reuter. Senior Shannon Ryan and junior Peyton Steinman round out the All-Tournament team from Saint Anselm.
Raymond earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the NE10 Championship, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Leaders
Stonehill
Kayla Raymond Sophomore, Forward: 17 points (6-for-13, 3-for-6 threes), seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Kelsey Shaw Senior, Guard: Season-high 17 points (6-for-9, 2-for-3 threes), seven rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and steal.
Madison Seymour Junior, Guard: 13 points (4-for-4, 3-for-3 threes).
Gabrielle Reuter Senior, Forward: 10 points (5-for-9), five rebounds, four assists, season-high six blocked shots.
Saint Anselm
Shannon Ryan Senior, Forward: 22 points (6-for-17, 10-for-14 FTs), 13 rebounds and three assists.
Peyton Steinman Junior, Guard: 18 points (8-for-17, 2-for-6 threes), six rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.
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Reuter also earned All-Tournament Team honors, leading the Skyhawks defense all week and finishing with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and six blocks today (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
How it Happened
- Saint Anselm held a seven-point lead (14-7), led by five points from Ryan after she split two free-throws with three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
- Stonehill surged to a four-point lead (18-14) with 40-seconds to play in the opening quarter after 11-straight points, sparked by back-to-back three-pointers from Seymour and Shaw. Seymour added a second triple and Shaw finished the run with five points.
- Stonehill carried a two-point edge (18-16) into the second quarter and would surge to a 16-point lead (36-20) with an 18-4 run and the Skyhawks would outscore Saint Anselm 23-9 for the frame overall to carry that 16-point cushion (41-25) into halftime.
- Raymond sparked the Stonehill run with the first five points and junior Jennifer Worden tallied seven points during the run to open the quarter.
- Stonehill made 8-of-15 (53.5%) shots from the floor in the second quarter, including 3-for-4 (75%) from three.
- Stonehill stretched its lead to 20 (49-29) after a Raymond jumper four minutes into the second half and were never truly threatened the rest of the way.
- Stonehill's lead extended to 23 (60-37) after two Shaw free-throws with a minute to play in the third.
- Saint Anselm crept back within 20 (62-42) at the end of the quarter, but Stonehill outscored the Hawks 8-1 to open the fourth to extend its lead to a game-high 27 (70-43) after a Shaw layup less than two minutes in and closed the game out from there.
Noteworthy
- Stonehill wins its sixth NE10 Tournament Championship, completing a sweep of the Northeast Division crown and Tournament. The Skyhawks last won the tournament in 2008, to go with titles in 1997, 1995, 1987 and 1983. Stonehill last doubled up on regular season and tournament championships in 2008 as well, doing so for the fourth time in program history overall.
- Stonehill shot 50.9-percent (29-for-57) from the field, including 10-for-16 (62.5%) from three-point distance, while limiting Saint Anselm 42.6% (23-for-54) shooting, including 5-for-13 (38.5%) from deep.
- Stonehill, which was being out-rebounded 10-1 early in the contest, finished just minus-one (32-31) against the top rebounding team in the NE10 as Saint Anselm entered with a +10-per game rebound margin.
- Stonehill are winners of a season-high 12 straight and 16 of 17 since the New Year, marking the longest current win streak in East Region after University of the Sciences was upset in the semifinals of the CACC Tournament to snap their 20-game win streak yesterday.
- Senior Grace Carter was playing in the 100th game of her career, joining classmates Shaw (115) and Reuter (106) with over 100 career games.
Up Next
Stonehill (23-5, 16-3 NE10) awaits its opponent for the upcoming NCAA Division II East Regional Tournament.
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