#21 Stonehill Falls to Bentley, 68-61
Four Falcons in double-figures, two with double-doubles in win
Senior Kelsey Simonds logged her fourth double-double of the season with 21 points and ten rebounds tonight. |
EASTON, Mass. (December 8, 2009) - Stonehill College, ranked 21st in this week's USA Today/ESPN/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II preseason poll, saw its six-game winning streak come to an end with a 68-61 setback to rivals Bentley University, among other teams receiving votes nationally, in a key early season Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball matchup at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.
Senior Colette Josey (Boston, Mass./Framingham) and junior Elise Caira (Wakefield, Mass./Arlington Catholic) each posted double-doubles to lead four Bentley players in double-figures. Josey posted 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds (six offensive) to go with six blocked shots, while Caira finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds (five offensive) and four assists.
Junior Kim Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) also netted a team-best 15 points, adding five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while sophomore Katherine Goodwin (Goffstown, N.H./Governor's Academy) chipped in 11 points.
Senior Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) again led Stonehill with her fourth double-double of the season (27th career) as she finished with 21 points and ten rebounds in 26 minutes. Junior Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) added 16 points, shooting 7-for-14 from the field including 2-for-2 from three-point range, five rebounds and two assists. Senior Erin Gray (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) contributed ten points, on 4-for-6 shooting from the field, four rebounds and three blocks, while sophomore Tania Williams (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward-Melville) chipped in nine rebounds.
Shooting numbers were pretty much even on the night, with Bentley shooting 39.4-percent (26-for-66) from the field, including 4-for-14 from three-point range (28.6%), and Stonehill finishing at 39.3-percent (24-61) from the field, including 4-for-10 (40%) from beyond the arc. The main difference in the game came in points off turnovers with the Falcons turning 15 Stonehill turnovers into 20 points at the other end, while the Skyhawks picked up just 11 points on ten Bentley turnovers.
Bentley gained the early advantage in the first half, building a 14-5 lead six minutes into the contest after a three-point play from Brennan. Stonehill chipped away and drew within one (14-13) after a put back from senior Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y./Corning East) with 11:40 left in the frame. The Falcons forged a six-point (29-23) halftime lead when Josey ended a three and a half minute scoring drought by both teams when she put back her own miss at the buzzer.
Stonehill used a 17-6 run early in the second half to turn a seven point deficit (33-26) into a four-point lead (43-39) after a Williams jumper with 12:23 remaining. Rousseau posted nine points during that stretch, while Gray contributed four.
Bentley had the answer, using a 12-0 run to regain the lead for good and extend it to eight points (55-47) after a Caira layup with 8:08 remaining. Stonehill was back within three (55-52) after a Gray layup with 5:28 to go, but Brennan ended another nearly three minute scoring drought by both teams with a layup to push the Falcons lead back up to seven (59-52) with 2:37 left. A three-point play from Simonds again drew the Skyhawks within three (59-56) with 1:45 to go, but Bentley scored the next six points, draining four-straight free-throws, to put its lead back to nine (65-56) with 24-seconds on the clock.
Stonehill (8-3, 4-1 NE-10) returns to action on Friday when it visits No. 2-ranked Franklin Pierce University for another NE-10 clash at 5:30 p.m. The Skyhawks don't return home until after the New Year when they resume their NE-10 schedule against the University of Massachusetts Lowell on Saturday, January 2, at 1:30 p.m.
