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| Emily Rousseau scored 18 points, grabbed four rebounds and handed out four assists in the Skyhawks 67-56 win over St. Michael's. |
No. 10 Skyhawks Get By St. Michael's, 67-56
Easton, Mass. - Behind 18 points, four rebounds and four assists from sophomore Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine), No. 10 Stonehill posted a 67-56 win over visiting St. Michael's on Wednesday evening at Merkert Gymnasium.
The Skyhawks, who were coming off just their second loss of the season, used a 10-0 run over the final 5:53 of the first half to put distance between the two teams. An evenly played second half saw the Stonehill lead grow to as many as 16 on a couple of occasions and never dip below ten after the first few moments of the second half.
The first half featured eight lead changes and with Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.) saddled with two early fouls, the Purple Knights took advantage, crashing the boards for eight offensive rebounds which resulted in six second chance points.
For the game, St. Michael's controlled the interior, outscoring the Skyhawks 30-18 in the painted area and outrebounded Stonehill 37-30.
The Skyhawks, however, shot 43 percent from the field (21-for-49) and made 20-of-23 from the charity stripe. Rousseau made half of them, going 10-for-11, as the contest marked the eleventh time this season in which the Skyhawks made 80 percent of their foul line attempts.
The Skyhawks were able to force 18 turnovers which they turned into 17 points and held the Purple Knights to 38 percent shooting.
Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.) was the only other Stonehill player in double figures, finishing with 14 points, six rebounds and four steals, while both Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H.) and Steph Pintal (Nashua, N.H.) each added eight points.
At 14-2 overall and 9-2 in Northeast-10 play, the Skyhawks will play their next three games on the road, a place they are 6-1 this season. First stop is Saturday at St. Rose.