Senior Mary Louise Dixon led four Skyhawks in double-figures with a game-high 26 points at Vermont today. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
Dixon leads four Skyhawks in double figures with game-high 26 points
BURLINGTON, Vt. (November 2, 2013) – Stonehill College, ranked 7th in the USA Today Sports/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II preseason poll, sent a message with a 74-69 victory over Division I University of Vermont, picked fifth in the America East preseason poll, in a women's basketball preseason exhibition at Patrick Gymnasium this afternoon.
Senior Mary Louise Dixon (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley), an honorable mention WBCA All-American last season, led four Stonehill players in double-figures with a game-high 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field and 9-for-13 shooting at the free-throw line to go with six rebounds, six assists and four steals. Dixon, who scored 20 second half points this afternoon, enters the regular season just two points shy of becoming the 27th 1,000 point scorer in program history.
Junior Tori Faieta (Lynn, Mass./Saint Mary's) added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting with eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Junior Amy Pelletier (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) contributed 12 points and four rebounds, while classmate Ashley Gendron (Auburn, N.H./Manchester Memorial) rounded out the Skyhawks double figure scorers with ten points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field while converting all six free throws to go with four boards and four assists.
Stonehill also got solid contributions from sophomore Shannon Brown (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial) with eight points and seven rebounds, while freshman Kelly Martin (Scituate, Mass./Scituate) pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
Freshman Jordan Eisler (Louisville, Colo./Monarch) was the lone Vermont player in double figures with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field, including 4-for-5 from three-point range, with four rebounds and two steals. Junior Annie Wheeler (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett) grabbed a game-high ten rebounds off the bench with seven points, two blocks and two steals. Freshman Kylie Butler (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista) added eight points and seven rebounds, while junior Niki Taylor (York, Maine/York) chipped in eight boards and a pair of blocked shots.
Junior Tori Faieta added 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Stonehill led by six (33-27) at the half, behind ten points from Pelletier, following a first half in which it never trailed and led by as many as 11 (27-16) after a layup by freshman Casey McLaughlin (North Andover, Mass./Central Catholic) with 5:35 left. The Skyhawks pushed the lead to nine with a three-point play from Dixon on the first possession of the second half.
Vermont used a 13-2 run to take its first lead of the game (40-38) on a three point play by sophomore Kaylea Britton (Ulysses, Kan./Ulysses) 3:45 into the second half. A Dixon three pointer put Stonehill back up four (47-43) with 12:40 to play. Eisler gave the Catamounts a one point lead (52-51) with nine minutes remaining, but the Skyhawks reclaimed a six point cushion (60-54) on a Dixon layup with 4:50 to go.
Back to back Eisler three-pointers pulled Vermont back even (60-60) with 3:50 remaining. Stonehill held and regained a five point margin (66-61) with a Gendron jumper with 2:44 left. Butler drew the Catamounts even again (68-68) with 1:11 to go and then after a Skyhawks miss, Taylor pushed UVM back in front (69-68) when she made one of two at the line with 29-seconds to go.
Gendron was fouled at the other end and made both free-throws to put Stonehill in front for good (70-69) with 19-seconds on the clock. Eisler committed a charge at the other end to turn the ball back over to the Skyhawks. Dixon was fouled and made one of two at the line for a two point lead (71-69) with 13-seconds remaining. Another Vermont charge at the other end and a bench technical put the Skyhawks back at the line with the possession and Dixon converted three of four free-throws from there to seal the victory.
Stonehill opens its 2013-14 season next Saturday when it battles Barry (Fla.) University on day one of the Nova Southeastern University Tip Off Classic at 2 p.m. The Skyhawks first home game isn't until Wednesday, November 20, when they host Merrimack College for their Northeast-10 Conference opener in Merkert Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m. Vermont tips off its season next Saturday at 4 p.m.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks mobile app on iTunes and the Android Market.
