Senior Meghan Driscoll had three blocks in Stonehill's 65-51 win.

Simonds Silences River Hawks

Boxscore

Easton, Mass. - Junior Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) scored 17 points to lead the No. 16 Stonehill Skyhawks over the UMass-Lowell Riverhawks, 65-51.  Tuesday night's Northeast-10 Conference clash at the Merkert Gymnasium marked the second meeting between the two teams, the first was a 80-74 victory for the Stonehill squad.

Tuesday night's loss slipped the River Hawks to 10-12 overall and 5-12 in the NE-10 entering. Meanwhile, the Skyhawks resume the spot atop the Conference standings by improving to 17-4 overall and 13-3 in the Conference.

Outstanding performances from sophomore Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y./Corning Painted-Post East), who added 11 points, and Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine/Mount Ararat), contributing 10 points and four assists lead to another nearly perfect home victory.  Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) also chipped in 10 points and grabbed five rebounds the Skyhawks' 14 point victory.

UMass-Lowell's Liron Asher and junior Revital Carmon each scored 15 points for the River Hawks. Asher converted five of six field goals while Carmon connected on three of six attempts while meshing nine of 11 free throw shots. She also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Led by Simonds, the Skyhawks outscored UMass-Lowell 22-12 in the paint. Not to be out-done, Stonehill's perimeter shooters also enjoyed a 21-6 edge from behind the arc as Methven converted three of five attempts from long range.

The Skyhawks shot .489 for the game (22-45), including .500 in the first half (11-22) while the River Hawks struggled to a .375 clip overall (15-40).

Stonehill led 21-17 with 4:57 left in the first half, and ended the half with a 12-0 run fueled by five points from Stupinski, to post a 33-17 cushion at the break. The Skyhawks led 45-30 midway through the second half and used an 11-2 spurt to post its largest lead, 56-32, with 8:06 to play. Methven was instrumental, scoring five points in the run.      

The Skyhawks will return to action Saturday during their "Think Pink" weekend event.  Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.  The women will take on Northeast-10 Conference rival Bentley College.  The game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.