Sophomore Kayla Raymond and the Skyhawks are 12-1 since the New Year and winners of a season-high eight straight |
Skyhawks have played toughest schedule in Division II, lead NE10 Northeast
NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Regional Rankings
EASTON, Mass. (February 20, 2020) – The Stonehill College women's basketball team is ranked No. 2 in the first NCAA Division II East Regional rankings, released by the Division II Women's Basketball Championships committee on Wednesday.
Stonehill (19-5, 15-3 NE10), which leads the Northeast-10 Conference's Northeast Division standings and has played the toughest schedule in all of Division II this season, is looking to make its 26th NCAA Tournament bid this season. The Skyhawks have reached the NCAA Tournament the last two years, including the 2017-18 season in which they captured their third East Region Championship in program history to advance to a third NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The NCAA regional rankings are used to determine the participants for the upcoming NCAA Tournament from each of Division II's eight regions. Each of the three conferences in the East Region (NE10, ECC and CACC) earn automatic bids from their conference tournament, leaving five at large bids for the NCAA Tournament.
Stonehill is one of six NE10 programs appearing in the first public NCAA East Regional ranking of the season. Adelphi University (24-2, 15-2 NE10) is ranked No. 1, followed by Stonehill, University of the Sciences (23-3, 16-1 CACC) from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) in third, with Bentley University (18-7, 13-4 NE10) fourth, Daemen College (20-3, 12-1 ECC) and Saint Thomas Aquinas College (19-5, 11-2 ECC) from the East Coast Conference fifth and sixth and then Saint Anselm College (17-6, 13-4 NE10) seventh, Le Moyne College (17-8, 13-5 NE10) eighth, Pace University (18-8, 11-6 NE10) ninth and then ECC member Molloy College (17-8, 9-4 ECC) rounds out the top ten.
Stonehill, under the direction of head coach Trisha Brown, in her 19th season, has played eight of the other nine teams appearing in this week's rankings, posting a 6-4 record in those games which includes a 68-60 road win over top-ranked Adelphi University in January and 65-61 neutral site win over No. 3 USciences back in November. The Skyhawks split the regular season series with Bentley and Saint Anselm, while adding wins over Daemen College (77-70) and Le Moyne (61-55). Stonehill's opponents this season have recorded a .617 winning percentage – tops in all of Division II, while the Skyhawks overall schedule owns a .616 winning percentage to also lead Division II.
Stonehill, which is the only program to qualify for all 39 NE10 Tournaments since the Conference started sponsoring the championship in 1982, has clinched at least a share of its tenth NE10 regular season championship. The Skyhawks are a game in front atop the NE10's Northeast Division standings with one game to play, looking to secure the top seed for the upcoming NE10 Tournament with a win over Southern New Hampshire University in its regular season finale at Merkert Gymnasium on Saturday, or losses by Bentley and Saint Anselm in one of their final two games. Bentley and Saint Anselm still play each other once more on the final regular season night in the NE10 on Tuesday. Should Stonehill finish tied with either, the top seed would be determined by the Conference's tiebreaker policy.
The 2020 NE10 Tournament commences with first round play on Friday, February 28, between the No. 4 and 5 seeds from the two divisions. Quarterfinal Round play is scheduled for Sunday, March 1, with the semifinals on Thursday, March 5, and the NE10 Championship scheduled for Sunday, March 8, at 1 p.m. Higher seeds host throughout the tournament. NCAA Division II Tournament bids will be announced the night of March 8, with regional competition commencing the weekend of March 13-16.
Stonehill, among teams receiving votes in both the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and D2SIDA Top 25 Division II national polls and ranked No. 3 in the D2SIDA East Region poll, is back in action on Saturday, when it caps the regular season against Southern New Hampshire University at Merkert Gym at 1:30 p.m.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
