Junior Emily Rousseau led Stonehill with 19 points, including the 1000th of her collegiate career, at Southern N.H. this afternoon. |
Skyhawks clinch first round NE-10 Tournament bye with win and Saint Rose loss
MANCHESTER, N.H. (February 20, 2010) - Stonehill College, ranked fifth in this week's NCAA Division II East Regional rankings, clinched a first round bye in the upcoming Northeast-10 Tournament with big help from a 72-48 victory over Southern New Hampshire University in NE-10 women's basketball action at SNHU Fieldhouse this afternoon.
The win, coupled with a 69-67 overtime loss by The College of Saint Rose to Southern Connecticut State University today in Albany, N.Y., clinches a first round bye in the upcoming NE-10 Tournament for Stonehill. The Skyhawks, would could still finish as high as third in the standings, will host an NE-10 quarterfinal round contest on Tuesday, March 2, at 7 p.m.
Junior guard Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) led a balanced Stonehill effort with 19 points as she made 9-of-12 shots from the field, including her lone three-point attempt, to go with four rebounds and four assists. In the process, she surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for her collegiate career, including her 187 points scored as a freshman at the University of Maine. Rousseau, who now has 1,002 career points, has totaled 815 points in 59 games over her three seasons at Stonehill. She reached the 1,000-point mark with a jumper midway through the first half, which sparked the Skyhawks run that broke the game open.
Classmate Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H./New Hampton Prep) added 15 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the field, and six assists, while senior Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) nearly notched a double-double with 14 points, a game-high nine rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists.
Junior Kristen McWhirter added 15 points and six assists in the win. |
Senior Ashara Carrington (Marblehead, Mass./Marblehead) led Southern New Hampshire with a game-high 20 points (14 first half) to go with six rebounds (four offensive). Classmate Jenny McDade (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) was the only other Penman in double-figures with 12 points, a team-high eight rebounds and two assists.
Stonehill shot over 50-percent from the field in each half, finishing at 52.5-percent (31-for-59) for the contest. The Skyhawks made 53.1% (17-32) of their baskets in the first half, including 5-for-8 (62.5%) from three-point range, before holding Southern New Hampshire to 17.2% (5-29) shooting in the second half, including 1-for-12 (8.3%) beyond the arc, to break game open. The Penmen finished shooting 31.7% (20-63) from the field for the afternoon. Stonehill posted a 16-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
The game was back and forth over most of the first half, with Stonehill trailing by as much as five in the early going. The Skyhawks forged a five-point lead of their own (23-18) after a layup by Rousseau capped an 11-2 run for the visitors. The game was tied at 29-29 after a put-back by Carrington with 4:16 left in the stanza, but Stonehill closed out the half on a 10-3 rush to carry a then game-high seven point (39-32) lead into the lockerroom after four straight points from McWhirter. Junior Amanda Smith (Penacook, N.H./Merrimack Valley) also collected four points during that stretch.
Both teams struggled to find their shooting touch over the opening minutes of the second half, but Stonehill was able to extend its lead to ten (42-32) after a Smith free-throw with 16:36 left in regulation. SNHU closed within five (42-37) after five-straight points from Carrington, but the Skyhawks opened an 11-point cushion (48-37) after four-straight points from Rousseau with 14:10 left.
SNHU was still within eight (50-42) after a layup from freshman Sloane Sorrell (Berwick, Maine/Noble) with 12:01 remaining, but Stonehill took over from there. The Skyhawks used a 13-1 run over the next six minutes to bust the game open with a 20-point (63-43) cushion after a Smith jumper with 6:17 to play. McWhirter had six points during that stretch, while Simonds converted a key three-point play.
Stonehill (20-8, 15-6 NE-10), which has reached the 20-win plateau for the fifth-straight season and 22nd time in program history overall, closes out the regular season on Wednesday, when it visits rival Bentley University, ranked third in the region, at 5:30 p.m. The Skyhawks can earn the No. 3 seed in the upcoming NE-10 Tournament with a victory over the Falcons by way of their victory over second place Pace University earlier this season, a team Bentley lost to. Southern New Hampshire (12-16, 8-13 NE-10) travels to Merrimack College on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
