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The Game
Stonehill College rounds out the opening weekend of the Northeast Conference season by visiting Central Connecticut State University for an NEC clash at Detrick Gymnasium this afternoon. The Skyhawks are in search of their first win of the season after being dealt a heartbreaking 54-52 setback at Long Island University in the NEC opener for both in Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon. The Blue Devils open their NEC slate with today's game after having the opening bye on Saturday and look to bounce back from back-to-back defeats, including a 68-65 decision at Morgan State University to open the New Year last Wednesday.

Media Information
This afternoon's game will be broadcast live via NEC Front Row with Jimmy Clarkl calling the action for the Central Connecticut State University production. The broadcast can be accessed via stonehillskyhawks.com through its NEC Front Row portal (necfrontrow.com/schools/SC) or through Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku via the NEC On the Run App.

Last Time Out
Long Island University held off Stonehill down the stretch to secure a 54-52 triumph in a back-and-forth battle in the Northeast Conference opener for both inside the Steinberg Wellness Center. Ashley Austin led LIU with 18 points, including three clutch free-throws in the final 72-seconds, adding seven assists, five steals and two rebounds. Mariah Elohim added 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, including ten in the first half, and three rebounds, while Nigeria Harkless rounded out the Sharks double-figure scorers with 11 points off the bench and three boards. Postgrad Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) paced Stonehill in just her second game back from injury after transferring from Providence with a career-high 18 points, including eight in the fourth quarter to lead the Skyhawks comeback from ten points behind late in the third quarter, and eight rebounds. Freshman Brooke Paquette (Hudson, N.H.) , the reigning NEC Rookie of the Week, scored in double-figures for the second-straight game and filled the boxscore with 11 points, including nine after halftime, and season-highs of seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Against the Blue Devils
This afternoon marks the sixth meeting all-time between these two programs, the third since Stonehill joined the Northeast Conference last season. Stonehill is 5-0 in the allt-time series with Central Connecticut State in a series that dates back to the 1981-82 season, sweeping the regular season series last year, including a 73-66 triumph here in New Britain in the Skyhawks NEC debut on January 2, 2023. Stonehill is 2-0 all-time here at Detrick Gymnasium, including that NEC debut triumph. Stonehill head coach Trisha Brown is 2-0 in her career against the Blue Devils, while CCSU first year head coach Way Veney is 0-0 against the Skyhawks.

Last Time They Met
Stonehill rode a second quarter surge to a 61-50 victory over Central Connecticut State at Merkert Gymnasium last February 18. Emily Bramanti led three from Stonehill in double-figures as she scored six of her game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter to help the Skyhawks close out the win, adding five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Maddie Loder added 11 points, a season-high matching six assists, three steals and three rebounds. Belle Lanpher was the lone Central Connecticut State player in double-figures with 14 points, two rebounds and two assists. Both teams finished with 18 turnovers, but Stonehill made the most of CCSU's, posting a 21-6 advantage in points off, while also finishing even on the offensive glass as the Skyhawks hauled in 18 offensive boards, compared to 18 defensive rebounds by the Blue Devils to register a 39-30 rebounding edge overall.

Playing CCSU
Four current members of the Skyhawks saw time against Central Connecticut State last season, highlighed by senior Cameron Ward's (Bound Brook, N.J.) 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, and eight rebounds in 27 minutes in what would prove to be her final game of the season on Janiuary 2, 2023. Junior Maureen Stapleton (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) averaged 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 18.3 minutes over two games, while senior Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) and Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) averaged 11.6 and 13.9 minutes per game against the Blue Devils, respectively.

Stonehill Ties
Central Connecticut State director of athletics Tom Pincince is a 1997 Stonehill graduate, where he was a four-year letterwinner on the football program. The former Stonehill quarterback still ranks among several single-season and career passing lists during his time in Easton. Pincince was named AD at CCSU in January 2022 after three years in an interim capacity. He is currently in his 22nd year at the University overall.

Milestone Start
Junior forward Maureen Stapleton (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) is projected to make her 20th career start for Stonehill this afternoon - tops among all current Skyhawks. She has started 19 of 67 career games played in three seasons at Stonehill.

Preseason Prognostications
Stonehill has been picked to finish fifth in its second trip around the Northeast Conference by the league's head coaches in its preseason poll announced at the Conference's Social Media Day at the Prudential Center in Newark in October. Defending NEC Tournament Champions Sacred Heart University is the unanimous choice to capture the regular season title with all nine first place votes, followed by No. 2 Merrimack, No. 3 Wagner, defending regular season champions FDU at No. 4 and Stonehill. LIU follows the Skyhawks at No. 6, with Saint Francis No. 7, NEC newcomer Le Moyne No. 8 and No. 9 Central Connecticut State.

Tourney Time
Stonehill, winners of six Northeast-10 Conference Championships prior to elevating its program to NCAA Division I status in 2022, will have the opportunity to compete for a Northeast Conference title for the first time this season after the NEC presidents voted to waive the two-year waiting period in automatic qualifier sports at their June meetings. The Skyhawks remain NCAA Tournament ineligible until the 2026-27 season.

Rookie of the Week
Stonehill freshman guard Brooke Paquette (Hudson, N.H.) was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week by the league office on Tuesday. Paquette collects Stonehill's first NEC Rookie of the Week honor after scoring a team and season-high 14 points in Saturday's matchup with Fairfield University, ranked No. 18 in the College Insider Mid-Major poll and No. 72 in the NCAA NET rankings. She scored ten points in the second half and finished shooting 4-for-9 from the field, including 1-of-2 three-pointers, converting 5-of-7 free-throws after drawing a game-high ten fouls. Paquette also tallied two assists, a rebound and steal in the matchup with the Stags to close out the Skyhawks non-conference schedule. She is the first Stonehill freshman to earn Rookie of the Week honors since former All-American Kayla Raymond, '22 was a program-record nine-time honoree in the Northeast-10 Conference during the 2018-19 season. It also marks the Skyhawks first weekly recognition of any kind during the 2023-24 season.

Right There
13 of Stonehill's 17 NEC games over its first two years in the Conference have been decided by eight points or less, including four of its five Conference wins and six of its last seven games after the Skyhawks were edged at LIU 54-52 in Brooklyn on Saturday. The Skyhawks last two NEC contests have been decided by two points, including a matchup with NEC regular season champions FDU 63-61 at Merkert Gym in their season finale in March.

Making the Jump
Two Stonehill players rank among NEC leaders in raising their scoring average from a year ago, having taken more of an offensive role this season with the departure of four starters from last year. Senior Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.), who ranks 15th among NEC scoring leaders leads the Conference with a +7.0 points per game scoring average bump from last season, while junior Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) is ranked fourth with a +4.4 points per game rise. Below is a list of players who have boosted their scoring averages at least 3.0 points per game from last season.

Name                  Team    22-23 ppg    23-24 ppg    change
Jada Thornton     STO         1.7               8.7             +7.0
Abby Conklin         FDU          3.4                9.5             +6.1
Rakisha Ballinger    WC          3.6                8.4              +4.8
Sharn Hayward   STO        2.4                6.8              +4.4
Amaya Staton       MC           8.6              12.1              +3.5

Above Board
Stonehill, which had been out-rebounded by 12 of its 13 opponents in non-conference play, posted a 43-33 rebounding advantage against LIU on Saturday, including a 13-9 edge on the offensive glass. Five Skyhawks posted season-high rebounding totals on Saturday, with four of those accomplishing career-bests, including postgraduate transfer Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) with a career-best eight including her time at Providence. Senior Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) and junior Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) each grabbed a career-best seven boards, while senior Cameron Ward (Bound Brook, N.J.) chipped in a season-high three. Junior Maureen Stapleton (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) collected double-digit rebounds for the third-straight game with a game-high 11.  

Delayed Debut
Stonehill postgrad Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.), a transfer from Providence College, made an immediate impact in her two games since returning from an injury. Including her career-highs of 18 points and eight rebounds at LIU on Saturday, she is averaging 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and an assist in 21.8 minutes off the bench over her first two games with the Skyhawks.

Well, Shoot...
Stonehill shot for a higher shooting percentage than its opponent for the second time this season at LIU on Saturday, connecting at 36.4-percent from the field, including 8-for-14 (57.1%) in the fourth quarter, compared to 35.7-percent for the Sharks - holding their fifth opponent of the season under 40%.

Helping Hands
Stonehill, averaging just 9.3 assists per game after averaging 14.1 a year ago when it assisted on over 65-percent of its field goals, dished out a season-high 18 assists on 20 field goals at LIU on Saturday. Freshman Brooke Paquette (Hudson, N.H.) dished out a season-high six assists to lead the Skyhawks for the second time this year. Stonehill is assisting on 58.5-percent of its field goals this season.

Lights, Camera, Action!
Both Stonehill women's basketball matchups with Saint Francis have been selected by the Northeast Conference to appear in the Conference's 2023-24 basketball broadcast schedule the league announced last week. Stonehill will host Saint Francis at Merkert Gym for an NEC matchup on Thursday, January 25, at 6 p.m., in a game that will now be broadcast live on ESPN+, as well as the Skyhawks return NEC matchup with the Red Flash in Loretto, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, February 24, at 4 p.m. It marks the first time in the Skyhawks two-year history with the NEC that it will have two games included in the Conference's ESPN+ package and the second-straight year it will host a game in the broadcast package after hosting Merrimack College in an ESPN+ clash at Merkert Gymnasium last February. The two Stonehill/Saint Francis matchups are among 12 women's games included in the NEC 25-game basketball broadcasting package for the 2023-24 season – 23 of which will be broadcast on ESPN platforms. The two games add to five Stonehill women's games scheduled for ESPN digital platforms this season, including today's game at George Washington on ESPN+.

Inside the Roster
Stonehill head coach Trisha Brown returns five letterwinners, including just one starter and no regular starters, from its inaugural NCAA Division I season in 2022-23.
Stonehill's roster includes:
• Three Division I transfers, including two postgraduate transfers in Anna Boruta (Vienna, Austra) from Northeastern and Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) from Providence, as well as sophomore Paige Martin (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.) from St. Francis-Brooklyn.
• Three players who combined to start 16 games last season, including senior Cameron Ward (Bound Brook, N.J.), who started ten of 14 games before being sidelined by injury.
• A program-record three international student-athletes.
• Two postgrads, two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and six freshmen.

Celebrating 75 Years
Stonehill College, founded in 1948 is celebrating its 75th Anniversary during the 2023-24 academic year. In September 1948, some 134 students — many of whom were veterans from World War II — gathered with the eight teachers who would serve as their faculty to celebrate Mass at the Chapel in Donahue Hall. That small gathering of students and teachers marked the beginning of Stonehill College. The College kicked off its 75th Anniversary Celebration with a Jubilee Mass during Family Weekend in September, followed by music, games, food trucks and beer garden.

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 Trisha Brown on Twitter via @CoachTB_SC.

Up Next
Stonehill returns to Merkert Gymnasium next weekend to open its NEC home slate by hosting FDU on Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by Wagner College for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday on Monday, January 15, at 2 p.m.