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At Merkert Gymnasium on game day
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$10.00 (students & senior citizens)

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The Game
Stonehill College continues its season-long matching three game homestand by hosting Saint Francis University for head coach Trisha Brown's program-record 637th game at the Skyhawks helm in a Northeast Conference matchup broadcast live on ESPN+ though the Conference's league broadcast package on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium tonight. The Skyhawks are aiming to get back on track after a pair of setbacks last weekend, including Sunday's 72-60 loss to Merrimack College here at Merkert Gym, while Saint Francis aims to build off its 55-52 victory over NEC leaders Le Moyne College on Sunday.

Media Information
Tonight's will be broadcast live on ESPN+, on ESPN streaming services on the web and via the ESPN App across smartphones, tablets and connected devices, with Austin Rooney (play-by-play) and Pam Roecker (analyst) calling the action for the Pack Network production. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $10.99 a month (or $109.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App. It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.

Last Time Out
Merrimack shot over 48-percent from the floor in the second half to overcome Stonehill's fast start and secure a 72-60 victory in Northeast Conference action at Merkert Gymnasium. Kaylee Thomas and Jayme DeCesare each scored a game-high 19 points to lead Merrimack to its third-straight win. Thomas connected on 3-of-8 three-pointers and converted 6-of-7 free-throws in netting her 19 points to go with six rebounds and two steals, while DeCesare made 8-of-14 shots, with three boards and two assists. Seniors Cameron Ward (Bound Brook, N.J.) and Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) recorded the first double-doubles of their careers and the first two for Stonehill this season overall to lead the Skyhawks. Ward posted career-highs of 17 points and ten rebounds, along with a career-high matching three assists, while Thornton added 15 points and a career-best 11 boards, with two assists and two steals. Junior Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) rounded out the trio of double-figure scorers for the Skyhawks with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three-point distance, reaching double-digits for the fourth-straight game with four assists and two rebounds.

Against the Red Flash
Tonight marks the third meeting all-time between these two programs. Saint Francis win each of the first two encounters between the two programs during Stonehill's inaugural NCAA Division I season in 2022-23 as the Skyhawks made their Northeast Conference debut. The Red Flash notched a 56-52 victory over Stonehill in their first visit to Merkert Gymnasium last January 6 in the first meeting all-time between the two, before completing the regular season series sweep with a 71-70 overtime triumph in the Skyhawks first trip to Loretto, Pennsylvania, in February. Stonehill head coach Trisha Brown is 0-2 over her career against the Red Flash, while Saint Francis head coach Keila Whittington is 2-0 all-time against the Skyhawks.

Last Time They Met
Saint Francis erased a seven-point deficit with less than five minutes to play to force overtime, before securing a 71-70 victory over Stonehill in NEC action in Loretto, Pennsylvania, last February 2. Aaliyah Moore was one of two from Saint Francis with 18 points, adding a game-high 13 rebounds for a double-double, while adding three assists and two blocked shots. Semaya Turner also scored 18 points off the bench with seven rebounds, three assists and a steal. Emily Bramanti led the way for Stonehill with 22 points for her third-straight 20-point outing, three rebounds and three assists. Sophie Glidden posted her second-straight double-double with ten points and a season-high matching 12 rebounds (four offensive) with four assists. Saint Francis trailed by at least seven points in every quarter, while never leading by more than a possession at any point themselves, in securing the win. The Red Flash led by a point (48-47) after three quarters of play, but Stonehill scored the first eight of the fourth, including five by Mia Kelly, to open another seven-point cushion (55-48) following a Bramanti three two and a half minutes in. The Red Flash pulled within two (64-62) after two Moore free-throws with 1:23 remaining. Destini Ward knotted the score with a layup that would prove to force the extra session as the visitors were unable to convert after a Glidden steal in the closing seconds. Stonehill wouldn't score from the field in the overtime session, but held a lead (69-68) after two free-throws from Maddie Loder halfway through the extra frame. Filippa Goula answered with a layup to push Saint Francis back in front and then she made one of two at the line with 18-seconds to go for a two-point lead (71-69). Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) was fouled going after a rebound for Stonehill and went to the line with a chance to knot the score again with six-seconds left. She made the first, and missed the second, but Glidden came away with her fourth offensive board, but a three-pointer by Bramanti was off the mark to seal the win for the Red Flash.

Alone at the Top
Stonehill head coach Trisha Brown will coach her 637th career game tonight against Saint Francis, passing the program-high for games coached at the College set by mentor and longtime administrator at the College, Paula Sullivan. Brown has led the Skyhawks to a 414-222 (.651) record over her 23-years as just the third head coach in the program's 53-year history. Sullivan posted a 479-157 (.753) mark from 1971-1995 as the founder of the women's basketball program and then later hired Brown as the College's athletic director in 2001. Brown coached her 450th conference game at the Stonehill helm against Merrimack on Sunday, having posted a 295-155 (.656) mark in conference contests, which includes a 288-140 (.673) mark in 21 season in the NE10.
Brown Notables:
• First career game - November 16, 2001 - vs. Millersville (W 75-70) - first career win
• 100th career game - January 6, 2005 - vs. American International (L 81-61)
• 100th career win - November 21, 2006 - vs. Southern N.H. (66-42)
• 200th career game - February 9, 2008 - vs. Bentley (W 57-38)
• 200th career win - January 5, 2011 - vs. Southern Conn. State (67-64)
• 300th career game - February 16, 2011 - at Saint Anselm (W 59-49)
• 300th career win - February 6, 2016 - at Franklin Pierce (71-64 - OT)
• 400th career game - January 10, 2015 - at Pace (W 63-46)
• 400th career win - February 20, 2022 - vs. Southern Conn. State (65-46)
• 500th career game - February 6, 2019 - at Bentley (L 77-59)
• 600th career game - December 20, 2022  - vs Northeastern (L 75-64)

Prime Performer
Senior guard Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer for the first time in her career on Tuesday. She averaged a double-double with 12.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game over Stonehill's two games last weekend, adding 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 37.3 minutes per game for the week. She posted her first career double-double and the first double-double by a Skyhawk this season with 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds with two assists and two steals against Merrimack here at Merkert Gym on Sunday. Thornton opened the weekend by finishing a point and rebound shy of a double-double at FDU on Friday night with nine points, nine boards (five offensive), three assists and a steal. Thornton is the third Stonehill player to earn NEC Prime Performer status for the first time over their career this season, joining junior Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania), who was also named the NEC Player of the Week on January 17, and postgraduate transfer Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) a week earlier to give the Skyhawks weekly honorees for three-straight weeks.
NEC Prime Performers:
Jan. 10: Lauren Sampson
Jan. 17: Sharn Hayward
Jan. 23: Jada Thornton

Lights, Camera, Action!
Both Stonehill women's basketball matchups with Saint Francis have been selected by the Northeast Conference to appear in the Conference's 2023-24 basketball broadcast schedule the league announced starting with tonight's matchup at Merkert Gymnasium. Stonehill's return NEC matchup with the Red Flash in Loretto, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, February 24, at 4 p.m., will also air on ESPN+, marking the first time in the Skyhawks two-year history with the NEC that it will have two games included in the Conference's ESPN+ package and the second-straight year it will host a game in the broadcast package after hosting Merrimack College in an ESPN+ clash at Merkert Gymnasium last February. The two Stonehill/Saint Francis matchups are among 12 women's games included in the NEC 25-game basketball broadcasting package for the 2023-24 season – 23 of which will be broadcast on ESPN platforms. The two games add to five Stonehill women's non-conference games scheduled for ESPN digital platforms this season.

Magic of the Merk
Stonehill is 70-12 at Merkert Gymnasium all-time against the current members of the Northeast Conference after its 2-1 start to its NEC home slate this season. Saint Francis owns one of those 12 Skyhawk setbacks with its 56-52 win here in Stonehill's first NEC home game last January.

Double the Double-Doubles
Seniors Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) and Cameron Ward (Bound Brook, N.J.) notched the first two double-doubles by a Stonehill player this season with the first double-doubles of their respective careers against Merrimack here on Sunday. After two near-misses, Thornton posted her first double-double with 15 points and a career-best 11 rebounds, while Ward registered career-highs with her team-leading 17 points and ten boards, matching her career-best with three assists as well. They marked the Skyhawks first double-doubles since former teammate Sophie Glidden, '23 totaled ten points and 12 rebounds at Saint Francis last February 2. It marks the first time Stonehill has had two players with double-doubles in the same game in its Division I era and first since Kayla Raymond, '22 (18 & 11) and Sophie Glidden, '23 (16 & 13) accomplished the feat against Franklin Pierce on February 8, 2022.

Feeling Right at Home
Junior guard Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) has scored in double figures in four-straight home games after her 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range against Merrimack on Sunday. It also includes her career-high 33 points and record 11 three-point barrage against Wagner on January 15, team-high 16 points against FDU (1/13) and 12 points against Fairfield (12/30), marking the first time scoring in double digits at home over her career. Hayward is averaging 10.3 points per game at home this season on 36.6% shooting, including 38% from three, while averaging 18.8 points on 56.5% shooting, including 21-for-37 (56.8%) from deep, over the last four home games.

Helping Hands
Stonehill is averaging 13.7 assists per game in NEC play this season - good for second among NEC leaders in Conference play. The Skyhawks are collecting assists on 66.7-percent of their field goals in their six NEC games this season, while averaging 10.6 assists per game (7th) this season overall and with assists on 59.6% of its field goals for the year after assisting on 64.9% of its field goals last year when it finished second in the NEC with 14.1 assists per game in its inaugural NCAA Division I season.      

Right There
14 of Stonehill's 22 NEC games over its first two years in the Conference have been decided by eight points or less, including five of its seven Conference wins, and seven of its last 12 games in league play overall.

The Sampson Effect
Stonehill is scoring 56.2 points per game in the six games since postgrad Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) joined the rotation. The Skyhawks were scoring 46.7 points per game in the 12 games prior to her debut to rank last in the NEC, now averaging 50.4 points, including 58.0 points per game in Conference play to rank sixth in the NEC. Stonehill is shooting 35.8-percent from three-point distance in her six games played, compared to 22.8% over its first 12 games.

Hitting the Glass!
Senior guard Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) is averaging a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game in NEC play to rank third in the NEC in Conference play after posting her first career double-double against Merrimack on Sunday. Thornton has led the Skyhawk rebounders in two-straight games and in three of the Skyhawks six NEC games overall.

Preseason Prognostications
Stonehill has been picked to finish fifth in its second trip around the Northeast Conference by the league's head coaches in its preseason poll announced at the Conference's Social Media Day at the Prudential Center in Newark in October. Defending NEC Tournament Champions Sacred Heart University is the unanimous choice to capture the regular season title with all nine first place votes, followed by No. 2 Merrimack, No. 3 Wagner, defending regular season champions FDU at No. 4 and Stonehill. LIU follows the Skyhawks at No. 6, with Saint Francis No. 7, NEC newcomer Le Moyne No. 8 and No. 9 Central Connecticut State.

Tourney Time
Stonehill, winners of six Northeast-10 Conference Championship prior to elevating its program to NCAA Division I status in 2022, will have the opportunity to compete for a Northeast Conference title for the first time this season after the NEC presidents voted to waive the two-year waiting period in automatic qualifier sports at their June meetings. The Skyhawks remain NCAA Tournament ineligible until the 2026-27 season.

Celebrating 75 Years
Stonehill College, founded in 1948 is celebrating its 75th Anniversary during the 2023-24 academic year. In September 1948, some 134 students — many of whom were veterans from World War II — gathered with the eight teachers who would serve as their faculty to celebrate Mass at the Chapel in Donahue Hall. That small gathering of students and teachers marked the beginning of Stonehill College. The College kicked off its 75th Anniversary Celebration with a Jubilee Mass during Family Weekend in September, followed by music, games, food trucks and beer garden.

Getting Social
Fans and media members of Stonehill athletics have multiple social media outlets to get updates on all 21 varsity programs. The department's Facebook page is www.facebook.com/stonehillskyhawks, and you can also follow @GoStonehill on Twitter and @stonehillskyhawks via Instagram!  Stonehill women's basketball is also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StonehillCollegeWomensBasketball, Twitter and Instagram by following @stonehillwbb. You can even follow head coach Trisha Brown on Twitter via @CoachTB_SC.

Up Next
Stonehill has the week off before it returns to action next Thursday, February 1, by wrapping up this three game homestand against Sacred Heart University here at Merkert Gym at 6 p.m.