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Individual Games
Presale Until Game Day:
$12.00 Adults
$7.00 (students & senior citizens)

At Merkert Gymnasium on game day
$15.00 Adults
$10.00 (students & senior citizens)

12 and under are free

The Game
Stonehill College wraps up its second season-long three-game homestand of the seaosn as it hosts preseason Northeast Conference favorites Sacred Heart University for its annual Play4Kay Game to benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund in an NEC matchup on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium tonight. The Skyhawks are aiming to continue to build momentum after posting a 66-57 victory over Saint Francis University here last Thursday in a game that was broadcast live on ESPN+ through the NEC's television package marking their third win over their last five games overall, including three wins over their last four home games. The Pioneers, the reigning NEC Champions and preseason favorites, have won three-straight and seven of eight after a 68-51 win over FDU in Fairfield, Connecticut, on Saturday.

Media Information
Tonight's game will be broadcast live via SkyhawksVision on NEC Front Row. Charlie Bergeron (PBP) has the call of the action along with Kara Kelly (analyst), with direction from Matt Nelson. 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. WSHL 91.3 FM has radio coverage in the Stonehill area with Chris Robbins and Andrew Nilsen on the broadcast.

Play 4 Kay
Tonight marks the Stonehill women's basketball program's annual Play 4 Kay Game. The Skyhawks are joining women's basketball programs at every level nationwide in supporting the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) Play 4 Kay initiative, and are wearing pink uniforms in support of the initiative. Play4Kay is the largest fundraising initiative of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the vision of its founder Olympic gold medal-winning and Naismith Hall of Fame Coach Kay Yow. For Coach Yow it was simple, to unite people through sport in the fight against cancer. Join the fight, choose a game on your schedule to Play4Kay, fundraise for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, and help deliver Coach Yow's vision of a future without cancer. Through Play4Kay, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund has national impact, extending hope to survivors, raising money to aid in the fight against all cancers affecting women and serving the under-served. As a result of Play4Kay and your participation, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund has been able to award more than $8-million toward this fight. Fans wearing pink to today's game will be admitted free of charge, with donation locations in the ticket area to benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

Last Time Out
Stonehill shot 50-percent from the floor in three of the four quarters and connected on 8-of-16 (50%) three-pointers overall in securing a 66-57 triumph over Saint Francis in Northeast Conference action at Merkert Gymnasium. Stonehill earns its third win over the last four game on Paula Sullivan Court on a night where head coach Trisha Brown surpassed Sullivan, the program founder, longtime administrator and mentor for most games at the helm of the program, with her 637th career game. Postgrad Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) led three from Stonehill in double-figures with a career-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three-point distance, to reach double-figures for the sixth-straight game played in 20-minutes off the bench, adding two rebounds, two assists and career-high matching two blocked shots. Freshman Brooke Paquette (Hudson, N.H.) added 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting, including 2-for-5 from three, with four rebounds, while junior Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) canned 3-of-5 threes for ten points to reach double-digits for the fifth-straight game, adding four assists. Destini Ward led a pair of double-figure scorers for Saint Francis with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Kendall Carruthers totaled 13 points and three steals for the Red Flash.

Against the Pioneers
Tonight marks the 21st meeting all-time between these two programs - the third since Stonehill started its transition to the NCAA Division I level last year. Stonehill owns a 17-3 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to February, 1981, but Sacred Heart won both regular season meetings between the two last year. The Skyhawks are 9-1 all-time against Sacred Heart at home, with the Pioneers earning their first win all-time at Merkert Gym with a 70-56 triumph here last January 8. Stonehill is 7-3 against Sacred Heart over the last ten encouters, with head coach Trisha Brown 0-2 over her career against the Pioneers and Sacred Heart head coach Jessica Mannetti 2-0 in her career against the Skyhawks.

Last Time They Met
Sacred Heart held off a fourth quarter comeback effort from Stonehill to secure a 66-61 victory in Fairfield, Connecticut, last January 28. Ny'Ceara Pryor scored 13 second half points, shaking off first half foul trouble to finish with a team-high 17 points for Sacred Heart, converting 9-of-11 free-throws as she drew 11 fouls herself, adding six rebounds, six assists and four steals. She scored 11 points in the fourth quarter alone, aided by 7-of-8 free-throw shooting, drawing eight fouls in the final frame. Kelsey Wood added 11 points off the bench for the Pioneers, with seven rebounds. Emily Bramanti led all scorers in the game with 25 points for Stonehill, including 14 in the second half to fuel the comeback effort, with two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Sophie Glidden posted a double-double with ten points and a game-high 12 rebounds (four offensive), with three assists.

Prime Performer
Stonehill postgraduate transfer Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer for the second time this season on Monday. She led the Skyhawks to a 66-57 triumph over Saint Francis in their lone game of the week on Thursday with a career-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three-point distance, with two rebounds, two assists and a career-high matching two blocked shots in 20-minutes off the bench. Sampson scored 14 of her career-best point total in the first half, including 11 in the second quarter when Stonehill stretched its lead to 11 points (36-25) at the intermission. She pushed the Skyhawks in front for good (12-10), draining a three-pointer just past the halfway point of the first quarter, and then scored all 11 of her second quarter points within a three-minute stretch to single-handedly lead an 11-4 Stonehill run that pushed its lead to nine (28-19) with 4:28 to go in the first half. Sampson buried a three and added a jumper to restore a double-digit lead (59-47) with 7:31 to play in the contest. Sampson is one of three NEC Prime Performers for the Skyhawks this season, along with senior Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) and junior Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania), and the first to earn the recognition multiple weeks, giving the Skyhawks weekly honorees for four-straight weeks.
NEC Prime Performers:
Jan. 10: Lauren Sampson
Jan. 17: Sharn Hayward
Jan. 23: Jada Thornton
Jan. 29: Lauren Sampson

Magic of the Merk
Stonehill is 71-12 at Merkert Gymnasium all-time against the current members of the Northeast Conference with its 3-1 start to its NEC home slate this season. Sacred Heart owns one of those 12 Skyhawk setbacks with its 70-56 win here last January.

End of a Run
Tonight marks the end of Stonehill's second season-long three game homestand, but also is one of just two home games during the entire month of February for the Skyhawks. Stonehill will play five of seven games this month on the road as it embarks upon a second season-long three game road trip on Saturday at Wagner. The Skyhawks only other home game this month will be their February 17 matchup with former NE10 rival Le Moyne College.

Right There
14 of Stonehill's 23 NEC games over its first two years in the Conference have been decided by eight points or less, including five of its eight Conference wins, and seven of its last 13 games in league play overall.

A Closer Look
Stonehill postgrad Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) posted just the second 20-plus point game of the season when her career-best 23 points in last Thursday's win over Saint Francis. Sampson scored 14 of her career-best point total in the first half, including 11 in the second quarter when Stonehill stretched its lead to 11 points (36-25) at the intermission. She pushed the Skyhawks in front for good (12-10), draining a three-pointer just past the halfway point of the first quarter,

Key Stat
Junior guard Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) is shooting at a 71.4-percent (20-28) clip in Stonehill's three wins this season, including 69.2% (18-26) from three-point distance, for a team-high 19.7 points per game. The Skyhawks have scored 64.3 points per game over their three wins, while allowing 52.3, compared to scoring 48.8 points per game, and yielding 71.6 in their losses.

The Sampson Effect
Stonehill is scoring 57.6 points per game in the seven games postgrad Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) has played since joining the rotation after being sidelined the first 12 games of the year after tranferring fro Providence. The Skyhawks were scoring 46.7 points per game in the 12 games prior to her debut to rank last in the NEC, and now averaging 51.2 points, including 59.1 points per game in Conference play to rank sixth in the NEC. Stonehill is shooting 37.3-percent from three-point distance in her seven games played, compared to 22.8% over its first 12 games.

Five Alive
Stonehill has won three of its last five entering tonight's games, featuring three double-figure scorers in that span to account for a 60.4 points per game average as a team on 38.5% shooting, including 41.8% from three-point distance. Junior Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) is averaging 17.0 points, postgrad Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) 13.8 points (four games), and senior Cameron Ward (Bound Brook, N.J.) 10.4 points over the last five. The Skyhawks are +0.2 in scoring margin over the five games as well.

Alone at the Top
Stonehill head coach Trisha Brown coached her 637th career game against Saint Francis last Thursday, passing the program-high for games coached at the College set by mentor and longtime administrator at the College, Paula Sullivan. Brown has led the Skyhawks to a 415-222 (.652) record over her 23-years as just the third head coach in the program's 53-year history. Sullivan posted a 479-157 (.753) mark from 1971-1995 as the founder of the women's basketball program and then later hired Brown as the College's athletic director in 2001. Brown coached her 450th conference game at the Stonehill helm against Merrimack on January 21, having posted a 296-155 (.656) mark in conference contests, which includes a 288-140 (.673) mark in 21 season in the NE10.

Brown Notables:
• First career game - November 16, 2001 - vs. Millersville (W 75-70) - first career win
• 100th career game - January 6, 2005 - vs. American International (L 81-61)
• 100th career win - November 21, 2006 - vs. Southern N.H. (66-42)
• 200th career game - February 9, 2008 - vs. Bentley (W 57-38)
• 200th career win - January 5, 2011 - vs. Southern Conn. State (67-64)
• 300th career game - February 16, 2011 - at Saint Anselm (W 59-49)
• 300th career win - February 6, 2016 - at Franklin Pierce (71-64 - OT)
• 400th career game - January 10, 2015 - at Pace (W 63-46)
• 400th career win - February 20, 2022 - vs. Southern Conn. State (65-46)
• 500th career game - February 6, 2019 - at Bentley (L 77-59)
• 600th career game - December 20, 2022  - vs Northeastern (L 75-64)
• 637th career game (program-high) - January 25, 2024 - vs. Saint Francis (W 66-57)

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 Championship 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.

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 hits the road, where it will play five of its seven NEC contests, starting Saturday at Wagner College at 4 p.m. The Skyhawks don't return home until Saturday, February 17, when they host Le Moyne College at 2 p.m.