#9 Stonehill Shuts Down Felician, 69-52
Skyhawks hold Falcons to 33-percent shooting, Simonds & McWhirter net 20-plus
Senior Kelsey Simonds scored a game-high 24 points and joined junior Kristen McWhirter on the Courtyard Marriott Classic All-Tournament team. |
WORCESTER, Mass. (November 21, 2009) - Stonehill College, ranked 9th in the USA Today/ESPN/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II preseason poll, held Felician College to 33.3-percent shooting to claim a 69-59 victory on day two of the 2009 Courtyard Marriott Classic, hosted by Assumption College, at Laska Gymnasium this afternoon.
Senior Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) and junior Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H./New Hampton Prep) combined for 44 points to lead Stonehill to its second-straight win. Simonds made 7-of-15 shots from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, while converting 8-of-10 free-throws for a game-high 24 points, five rebounds, four assists, four blocked shots and three steals in 29 minutes of action. McWhirter drained 8-of-11 shots from the field, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, for 20 points to go with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Both Simonds and McWhirter were named to the All-Tournament team.
Sophomore Tania Williams (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward-Melville) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds (five offensive) for the Skyhawks, while senior Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y./Corning East) chipped in ten points.
Senior Janelle Biamonte (Secaucus, N.J./Marist) led Felician with a double-double effort of 12 points and 11 rebounds to go with four assists, earning a spot on the All-Tournament team for the Falcons. Freshman Renelle Wyke (Charlotte, N.C./Victory Christian Center School) added ten points and three boards.
Stonehill finished shooting 39-percent (23-for-59) from the field, including 9-for-17 (52.9%) from three-point range - including 6-for-9 (66.7%) in the second half. Felician finished shooting 33.3-percent (20-for-60) from the field after shooting 8-of-30 (26.7%) in the opening half, including 3-for-19 (15.8%) from three-point range - just 1-for-10 (10%) in the second half. The Falcons posted a 45-36 rebounding advantage, resulting in a 15-4 scoring margin in second chance points, but the Skyhawks took advantage of 21 Felician miscues for a 20-13 break in points off turnovers.
Stonehill closed the first half out with an 11-2 run to take a nine-point halftime lead (29-20) after Simonds hit one of two at the free-throw line with 34-seconds left. The Skyhawks led by ten (28-18) after a Methven three with 1:12 left in the half.
Felician closed within six (29-23) after a conventional three-point play by Biamonte, but Stonehill responded with an 8-2 burst to take a 12-point advantage (37-25) after a Rousseau three with 15:36 to go. The Skyhawks lead grew to 16 (45-29) after back-to-back McWhirter three's with 12:34 remaining.
Stonehill's lead extended to 18 (53-35) on a steal and layup by McWhirter with 8:40 to go. Felician made one last run, drawing within 11 (54-43) after two Wyke with 4:03 remaining, but the Skyhawks regained their 18-point cushion (64-46) following a 10-3 run capped by two Simonds free-throws with 1:33 to go. Stonehill iced the game from there by hitting its last five free-throws and Simonds put an exclamation point on the win with a three with 11-seconds left.
Stonehill (4-2, 0-0 NE-10) is back in action on Tuesday when it hosts Merrimack College for its Northeast-10 Conference opener in Merkert Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m. Felician (0-2, 0-0 CACC) hosts New York Institute of Technology on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
