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| Sophomore Kristen McWhirter had the best all-around game of her career with 17 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals in the Skyhawks' 78-63 win over Merrimack. |
Triples Rain Down In Skyhawks 78-63 Win
Easton, Mass - No. 8 Stonehill made 13 three-pointers and held visiting Merrimack scoreless for the final six minutes of the second half as they pulled away down the stretch to post a 78-63 win over the Warriors at Merkert Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.
The two teams combined to go 25-for-53 from behind the arc as six different players had three or more made shots from three-point land.
The Skyhawks had five players in double figures led by 17 points apiece from Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y.), Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.) and Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine). Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.) had 13 points, while Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H.) added 12 points, seven rebounds and a career-high eight assists.
Stonehill's first five baskets of the game were three-pointers but the Skyhawks found themselves down by as many as four in the first half thanks in large part to the three-headed monster of Casey Miller, Amanda Shannon and Gennifer Roy who combined to score 28 of the Warriors 35 first half points.
Trailing at the half for only the second time this season, Stonehill opened the second stanza on an 11-0 run that featured three fast break layups and a McWhirter triple. A long bomb from Miller trimmed the Skyhawks lead to 51-50, but a Methven three and a inside hoop from Simonds, sandwiched around Shannon's 1,000th career point at the free throw line, bumped the Skyhawk advantage back to four at 56-52.
The lead grew back to as many as seven before the Warriors made their final push capped by a Shannon three-pointer to get the visitors close at 66-63.
That basket, however, would be their last as Stonehill closed the game on a 12-0 run, holding Merrimack scoreless over the final 5:57 and in turn connected on four of their final five shots including a three from Methven and a pair of triples from Rousseau.
The Skyhawks controlled the boards outrebounding the Warriors 37-26 and had 24 assists on 28 of their baskets.
Highlighted by Methven's performance, Stonehill's reserves outscored Merrimack's bench 19-0.
Stonehill had a season-low 13 turnovers, while the Warriors committed 17 miscues - 13 of them in the second half.
Shannon led all scorers with 22 points, while both Miller and Roy added 15. Hannah DeGraffinreed, the Northeast-10's leading rebounder, finished with six points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Rousseau, who entered the game as the Northeast-10's leading three-point shooter at 61 percent, connected on four-of-six triple tries, while McWhirter made four-of-five. Roy, meanwhile, tied Methven with a game-high five made threes.
With the win, Stonehill improves to 6-1 overall, 4-1 in the Northeast-10. The Warriors slip to 1-5 and 0-3 in league action.
Saturday's matchup with Assumption, which will be the 1,000th game in the history of Stonehill women's basketball, will match the Northeast-10's top two teams. The Skyhawks are in a four-way tie for first with the Greyhounds, American International and New Haven.