Junior Emily Rousseau led Stonehill past Le Moyne with a game-high 22 points to go with five rebounds and two assists tonight. |
Stonehill Holds Off Le Moyne, 66-63
Rousseau leads Skyhawks to ninth-straight win with game-high 22 points
EASTON, Mass. (January 26, 2010) - Stonehill College, among teams receiving votes in this week's USA Today/ESPN/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II poll, shot 54.2-percent (13-for-24) from the field in the second half and held off an upset bid from Le Moyne College with a 66-63 victory in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.
Junior guard Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) kept her hot streak going for Stonehill, finishing with a game-high 22 points (16 second half) on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, while drilling 2-of-3 three-pointers, and converting all six free-throw attempts on the night. She also posted five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Classmate Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H./New Hampton Prep) added 13 points, while senior Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y./Corning East) contributed ten. Senior Erin Gray (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and sophomore Tania Williams (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward-Melville) each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, while Gray also chipped in eight points for the Skyhawks.
Senior Muffy Sadler (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) led Le Moyne with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field, including 5-for-10 from three-point range. Freshman Torie Lee (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) added 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, draining her lone three-point and free-throw attempts, to go with three rebounds and two assists off the bench. Senior Brittany Davis (Detroit, Mich./Oak Park) chipped in with a team-high seven rebounds to go with six points, two blocks and two steals.
Stonehill finished shooting 41.5-percent (22-for-53) from the field after his 54.2% (13-24) second half shooting effort. The Skyhawks also buried 3-of-5 three's in the second half and out-scored Le Moyne 17-6 from the free-throw line as the Dolphins converted just 6-of-16 (37.5%) free-throws for the evening. The Skyhawks also posted a 13-3 advantage in second-chance points. Le Moyne finished shooting 43.9-percent (25-57) from the field.
Junior Kristen McWhirter added 13 points in the win. |
After trailing most of the first half, Stonehill looked poised to break the game open early in the second as an 11-3 opening run put the Skyhawks up nine (38-29) after a Methven three 3:55 into the half. McWhirter and Rousseau each collected four points in that run as well. Le Moyne wouldn't go quietly and chipped away, drawing level for the third time in the frame (49-49) after a layup from freshman Emily Bayly (Schenectady, N.Y./Niskayuna) with 7:23 remaining.
Stonehill regained a five-point lead (59-54) after a Gray layup with 1:45 to play. The Dolphins rallied again, pulling within one when Sadler converted a four-point play after she was fouled while drilling a three-pointer with 1:30 left. Stonehill misfired at the other end and the Dolphins took their first lead of the half (61-59) with a three-point play by Lee with 47-seconds to go.
Rousseau answered by draining a three while getting fouled and finished the four-point play to put Stonehill back in front by two (63-61) with 33-seconds left. Bayly missed a drive at the other end and Williams put the Skyhawks up three (64-61) with one of two at the line with 15-seconds to play. Bayly scored a layup at the other end, but Methven converted two free-throws with 2.9-seconds left and a desperation heave at the buzzer for Le Moyne was well off the mark to send the Skyhawks on to their ninth-straight win.
Stonehill (17-4, 12-2 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday when it visits The College of Saint Rose at 1:30 p.m. The Skyhawks return home next Wednesday, February 3, to host top-ranked and NE-10 leaders Franklin Pierce University at 5:30 p.m. The game will also be broadcast live via www.northeast10.tv and www.stonehillskyhawks.tv as part of the NE-10's "February Frenzy" promotion. Le Moyne (6-13, 3-11 NE-10) hosts No. 1 Franklin Pierce on Saturday at 1 p.m.
