Thornton is one of five returning letterwinners for the Skyhawks as a senior (PHOTO BY Brian Foley) |
Skyhawks feature five returning letterwinners, including one starter, as 2023-24 roster headlined by nine newcomers
NEC Releases Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
Stonehill Women's Basketball Preseason Prospectus
EASTON, Mass. (October 25, 2023) – Stonehill College has been picked to finish fifth in the upcoming Northeast Conference season by the league's nine head coaches, the Conference announced at its 2023 NEC Social Media Day hosted by the Prudential Center on Tuesday.
Stonehill's No. 5 preseason ranking kicks off its second NCAA Division I season after finishing tied for seventh in its inaugural Division I season last winter. Reigning NEC Champions Sacred Heart University is the Conference's unanimous preseason pick to win the NEC this winter, with Merrimack College second, Wagner College third and FDU fourth leading up to Stonehill. The Skyhawks are picked above Long Island University, Saint Francis University, Le Moyne College and Central Connecticut State University in the poll.
Stonehill head coach Trisha Brown returns five letterwinners and just one starter from last years squad that posted nine wins, including five in NEC play to finish tied for seventh in its first Division I season. Leading the group of returnees are senior captain Cameron Ward, who started ten of 14 games before being sidelined by injury, and classmate Jada Thornton, along with junior captain Sharn Hayward.
Ward has started ten of the 15 games she has played over her Stonehill career and was averaging 6.4 points on 44.7-percent shooting with 4.1 rebounds and an assist in 20.4 minutes per game prior to being sidelined at the start of the Skyhawks first NEC season. Thornton has started three of 52 games played over her career, appearing in all 29 games in the Skyhawks inaugural Division I season, netting a season-high ten points against the University of Vermont. Hayward has appeared in 49 career games over her first two seasons at Stonehill, with three starts.
Ward started 10 of 14 games played for the Skyhawks in their inaugural Division I season (PHOTO BY Brian Foley) |
Rounding out Stonehill's returnees are junior Maureen Stapleton, who averaged 17 minutes over the Skyhawks 29 games, starting five, in 2022-23, chipping in 4.0 rebounds per game, as well as sophomore Chelsea Graiver, who averaged 9.1 minutes in her eight appearances as a freshman.
Stonehill's 2023-24 roster is headlined by nine newcomers, including three Division I transfers. Postgraduate transfers Anna Boruta from Northeastern University and Lauren Sampson from Providence College, as well as sophomore Paige Martin from former NEC member St. Francis-Brooklyn are joining the Skyhawks this season and bring experience to a team that lost six letterwinners after last season.
Boruta, who recently represented Austria at the FIBA 3X3 U23 World Cup, appeared in 41 games over three years at Northeastern with one start, scoring a career-high 11 points against Hampton University in February. Sampson played 58 games, with 11 starts, over four seasons at Big East member Providence, starting 11 of 26 games played in 2021-22 in which she averaged 22-minutes per game during that junior year, but played just three games last winter before suffering an injury. Martin averaged 6.1 minutes in her nine games played as a freshman at St. Francis-Brooklyn.
Brown welcomes six freshmen to Stonehill and rounds out the Stonehill roster. Emma Arca is one of a program-record three international players on this year's roster, joining classmates Breana Delaney, Isabella Mallory, Chayil Mauristhene, Brooke Paquette and Catelyn Wheeler.
Stonehill opens its 2023-24 season in less than two weeks as it will host Northeastern for the second-straight season at Merkert Gymnasium on Monday, November 6 at 6 p.m. The Skyhawks season features road matchups at Big East member DePaul University on Thursday, November 9 (8 PM) and ACC member Boston College on Tuesday, December 12 (11 AM). Stonehill opens its second NEC season at Long Island University on Saturday, January 6 (2 PM), before its NEC home opener a week later against FDU on Saturday, January 13 (2 PM).
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Market.
