GAMEDAY CENTRAL: Women's Basketball Heads to Vermont for TD Bank Classic Saturday and Sunday

Stonehill Skyhawks
(1-4, 0-0 NEC)

at

University of Vermont Catamounts
(2-3, 0-0 America East)

Saturday, November 26, 2022
Patrick Gymnasium
Burlington, Vt.
Noon

 

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The TD Bank Classic
Stonehill College heads to Burlington, Vermont, to take part in the TD Bank Classic, hosted by the University of Vermont this weekend. The Skyhawks open against host Vermont on Saturday at noon, before facing either Oakland University and Siena College on Sunday afternoon. The Skyhawks are looking to build off its first NCAA Division I win with its 62-35 victory over Hartford in Easton, Massacusetts, on Monday. Vermont posted a 60-37 win over Army West Point here at Patrick Gymnasium. Oakland enters the weekend having dropped two-straight to BIG10 opposition, including an 84-55 setback to Illinois on Monday, while Siena fell to Duquesne University in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, 92-73.

Media Information
This weekend's games will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with Bernie Cieplicki calling the action. Saturday's game against the University of Vermont will be broadcast on radio via WVMT 96.3 FM and 620 AM with Ryan Zimmerman on the call. On Sunday, Siena radio coverage would be on WVCR 88.3 FM in the Capitol New York Region, or via iHeart Radio app with Steve Amedio on the call.

TD Bank Classic History
The TD Bank Classic has developed a reputation as one of the top in-season tournaments in women's basketball. In past years teams such as Tennessee, NC State, Auburn, Louisville, Vanderbilt and St. John's and coaches Pat Summitt and Kay Yow, have participated in the tournament.  The TD Bank Classic also boasts 10 alumni who have gone on to play in the WNBA. Vermont has won the tournament title seven times, the last coming in 2011. In the 2021-22 season the Catamounts fell to Bucknell in the championship game.

Against the Field
Stonehill will be playing Vermont and then either Oakland or Siena for the first time in program history. However, Stonehill and Vermont did play an exhibition prior to the 2013-14 season, with the Skyhawks claiming a 74-69 triumph right here at Patrick Gymnasium. Stonehill has played one prior MAAC member (of which Siena is a member) and dropped a 77-53 decision at Fairfield on November 18. Stonehill is 1-1 all-time against teams from Michigan (Oakland), posting an 84-63 win over Saginaw Valley State University at Merkert Gym in 2005, but dropping an 87-64 decision to Grand Valley State in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 2019.

This Is Supposed To Be An Exhibition
While this afternoon marks the first official meeting between Stonehill and Vermont, the Skyhawks do own a 74-69 exhibition win over Vermont at the start of the 2013-14 season. Mary Louise Dixon 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. Jordan Eisler 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.

Historic Win
Stonehill claimed its first win at the NCAA Division I level with Monday's 62-35 triumph over Division I Independant University of Hartford at Merkert Gym in just the program's second Division I home game. The Skyhawks first win comes in its fifth game at the Division I level after announcing it had accepted an invitation to join the Northeast Conference on April 5.

A Double-Double
Fifth-year Sophie Glidden (Scarborough, Maine) logged Stonehill's first double-double of the season with her 14-point, 10-rebound effort against Hartford on Monday, marking the first double-double of her career (64 games). Sophomore Maureen Stapleton (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) pulled down a career-best 13 rebounds in the win, marking her second double-figure rebounding effort of the season (third career).

A Just Re-Ward
After three injury-plagued years at Stonehill, junior forward Cameron Ward (Bound Brook, N.J.) made her first collegiate start for the Skyhawks on Monday night against Hartford. She responded by chipping in career-high totals of six points, three rebounds and two assists over 19 minutes as the Skyhawks earned their first NCAA Division I win against the Hawks.

Glass Plus
Stonehill has outrebounded three of its first five opponents this season and leads the NEC with a +5.4/gm rebounding margin. The Skyhawks share the NEC lead by averaging 42.6 rebounds per game so far this season, including a Conference-best 33.0 defensive boards per game, while ranking fourth with 9.6 offensive rebounds per game.

D-Up
Stonehill leads the NEC in field goal percentage defense, holding its first five opponents to 36-percent shooting. The Skyhawks rank second in the NEC for scoring defense, allowing 58.0 points per game as one of three in the Conference holding opponents under 60 points per game. Stonehill is also fourth in three-point percentage defense (.226).

Glidden Paints the Glass
Fifth-year Sophie Glidden (Scarborough, Maine) leads the NEC with her team-high 8.6 rebounds per game - which ranks fourth among all Division I women's players in New England. She pulled down 12 boards in each of Stonehill's first two games at Lehigh and Providence and grabbed her first career double-double with 14 points and ten boards against Hartford on Monday. She ranks sixth in the NEC with 2.3 offensive boards per game to go with 6.0 defensive rebounds per game to rank second.

Way To Go Mo!
Sophomore Maureen Stapleton (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) ranks fourth among NEC rebounding leaders behind teammate Sophie Glidden (Scarborough, Maine) with 8.2 per game after her career-best 13 against Hartford on Monday. She has pulled down double-figure rebounds in two games this season (three career).

In Transition
Stonehill announced it had accepted an invitation to join the Northeast Conference and commence a four-year transition to full NCAA Division I membership on April 5. The Skyhawks started their four-year transition on July 1 and will earn full NCAA Division I membership in 2026-27. At the June NEC meetings, the Conference presidents announced a shift in the waiting period for automatic qualifier sports from competing for NEC postseason championships from four to two years, making Stonehill eligible to compete in the NEC postseason starting in 2024-25.

Proud History
Stonehill won the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup six times, finishing in the top three in the final standings 15 of the last 17 years. Stonehill was one of just ten institutions nationwide to receive the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement, recognizing athletic departments with an Academic Success rating of 90-percent or better, each of the first ten years of the program's existence. The College ranks No. 98 in the category of National Liberal Arts Schools by U.S. News & World Report and No. 94 for the Best Value category.

Hoop History
Stonehill women's basketball earned 26 NCAA Division II Tournament bids over its history, the last was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Stonehill was a charter member of the Northeast-10 Conference, and are the lone program to have competed in all 40 NE10 Tournaments prior to transitioning to Division I this summer, with its final appearance culminating with a 13th finals appearance in March. Stonehill has won the NE10 Tournament six times, with an additional ten regular season championships. Stonehill reached the NCAA Division II Elite Eight three times, the latest in 2018, and advanced to the Division II National Semifinals in 1995.

Preseason Prognostications
Stonehill was picked to finish ninth in its first Northeast Conference season by the league's head coaches. Wagner received six first place votes to top the preseason rankings, followed by Fairleigh Dickenson with two first place votes. St. Francis Brooklyn is picked third, while Saint Francis (Pa.) is fourth with the remaining first place vote.  

Tough Slate
Stonehill has assembled a hardy non-conference slate in its inaugural Division I season, featuring opponents from the Patriot League (2 - Lehigh, Holy Cross), Big East  (1 - Providence), America East (3 - Vermont, New Hampshire, Bryant), MAC (1 - Buffalo), MAAC (1 - Fairfield) and CAA (1 - Northeastern) to prepare for its inaugural Northeast Conference schedule that will start just after the New Year. 

Be the IMPACT
Stonehill fifth-year forward Sophie Glidden (Scarborough, Maine) was named a finalist for the national "Teammate of the Year" award by Team IMPACT, a national non-profit organization that signs children facing serious illness and disabilities onto college athletic teams across the country through a unique multiyear program. Glidden was nominated by six-year-old Ariel, a child from nearby Holbrook who has a genetic disorder called Rett Syndrome. Glidden was one of five finalists from across the country for the Teammate of the Year award.

Getting Social
Fans and media members of Stonehill athletics have multiple social media outlets to get updates on all 21 varsity programs. The department's Facebook page is www.facebook.com/stonehillskyhawks, and you can also follow @GoStonehill on Twitter and @stonehillskyhawks via Instagram!  Stonehill women's basketball is also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StonehillCollegeWomensBasketball, Twitter and Instagram by following @stonehillwbb. You can even follow head coach Trishs Brown on Twitter via @CoachTB_SC.

Up Next
Stonehill will face either Oakland University or Siena College on the final day of the TD Bank Classic, hosted by Vermont, tomorrow. Stonehill will next be in action after this weekend next Saturday, December 3, when it visits the University of New Hampshire for a non-conference matchup at 1 p.m. Stonehill returns to Merkert Gym on Wednesday, December 14, to open a three game homestand to close out 2022 against UAlbany at 6 p.m.