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Erika Stupinski had 11 assists, eight rebounds and five steals in the 68-58 win over Franklin Pierce. |
North Easton, Mass. - Stonehill finished its home opener on a 19-4 run to turn a five point deficit into an impressive 68-58 win over previously undefeated Franklin Pierce on Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium.
The run, which featured 10 points from junior Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.), helped move the Skyhawks to 6-0 overall for the second straight season.
Stonehill had only led briefly in the first half at 9-8, and trailed by as many as 11 in the first 20 minutes, chipped away at the Raven advantage, eventually cutting the lead to 36-35 at the half after a buzzer-beating three pointer from Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.).
Franklin Pierce, which entered the contest shooting just 29 percent from behind the three point line, nailed six of their 12 attempts in the first half as they built their lead. Conversely, the Skyhawks, the Northeast-10's third best three point shooting team, went just three-for-15 in the first half.
Things changed dramatically midway through the second stanza, as Stonehill went away from the three pointers, and went inside to Simonds as she scored several baskets down the stretch inside of off feeds from Stupinski.
In the end, the Ravens went 7-for-22 from three point land, while the Skyhawks finished 6-for-21.
Ahead 62-56 with 1:30 remaining, Stonehill put the game away when Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine) grabbed a rebound and found Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y.) for the game sealing basket.
Simonds went 7-for-9 from the field and 8-of-9 from the line, narrowly missing another double-double with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds. Methven was 6-for-11 from the field, and finished with 18 points and Tighe chipped in with 11. Stupinski, meanwhile, had 11 assists, eight rebounds and five steals.
Franklin Pierce's Johannah Leedham, who entered the contest as the Northeast-10's second leading scorer at 26.4 points per game, finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Toby Martin had 13.
Stonehill returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts Assumption at 5:30 p.m.