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The Game
Stonehill College opens a season-long matching three game road trip that kick starts a stretch of five of its next six away from Easton against Wagner College for a Northeast Conference matchup inside the Spiro Sports Center this afternoon. The Skyhawks are aiming to bounce back from an 80-53 decision to reigning NEC champions Sacred Heart University at Merkert Gymnatium on Thursday night, while the Seahawks will be trying to shake off a 56-45 setback at NEC co-leaders Le Moyne College in Western New York less than 48-hours ago.

Media Information
This afternoon's game will be broadcast live on NEC Front Row. Marc Ernay (PBP) has the call of the action along with Ray Martel (analyst) for the Wagner College 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
Sacred Heart took full advantage of Stonehill turnovers to fuel an 80-53 victory in a Northeast Conference matchup at Merkert Gymnasium Thursday night. Ny'Ceara Pryor and Amelia Wood combined for 31 points to lead three from Sacred Heart in double-figures and the Pioneers forced 29 Stonehill turnovers and rode those to a crucial 32-10 advantage in points off, including 16-2 in the first half to build a 20-point halftime lead. Pryor scored a team-high 16 points for Sacred Heart on 7-of-10 shooting, with five rebounds, four steals and three assists, while Wood added 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, making all five of her shots inside the arc, with two rebounds and two steals off the bench. Sajada Bonner scored all 11 of her points in the first half to round out the Pioneers in double-figures, connecting on 3-of-5 three-pointers. Senior Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) and postgrad Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) combined for 26 of Stonehill's 53 points as the lone Skyhawks in double-figures and two of the three that scored more than one field goal on the night. Thornton scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, with four rebounds, two assists and a steal, while Sampson came off the bench to reach double-figures for her seventh-straight game with 17 points on 8-of-17 shooting, a game-high six rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Play 4 Kay
Stonehill joins 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.

Against the Seahawks
This afternoon marks the fourth meeting all-time between these two programs as they wrap up the regular season series here on Staten Island. Stonehill holds a 2-1 edge in the all-time series which started with the Skyhawks inaugural NCAA Division I season last year, having won the last two encounters, both in Massachusetts, after a 67-44 triumph on the Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday in their first matchup of the 2023-24 season. Wagner won the lone meeting here on Grimes Hill by way of an 84-63 triumph here in the first ever meeting between the two programs on January 19, 2023. Stonehill head coach Trisha Brown is 2-1 over her career against the Seahawks, while Wagner head coach Terrell Coburn is 1-2 all-time against the Skyhawks.

Last Time They Met
Junior guard Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) drained a school-record 11 three-pointers to lead a program-record matching barrage of 17-three-point field goals for Stonehill on its way to a 67-44 triumph over Wagner in a Northeast Conference matchup at Merkert Gymnasium on January 15. Hayward finished 11-for-15 from three-point range in her record-setting afternoon to score a career-high 33 points, including 21 in the second half on 7-of-9 shooting from deep, with three assists and two rebounds in playing all 40-minutes of the contest as Stonehill won its second-straight game. Hayward led a season-best 17-for-32 (53.1%) three-point shooting effort on the day for Stonehill, matching the program record for the third time in its history as five players combined to hit as many three-pointers as Wagner had field goals in the contest overall (17-for-47) and finish just one shy of the NEC single-game mark. Postgrad Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) reached double-figures for the fourth-straight game with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting, three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Junior Semie Brar scored a team-high 14 points for Wagner, with three steals, while freshman Kiera Edmonds led the Seahawks with 12 points and seven rebounds (four offensive).

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

Homecoming of Sorts
Stonehill's three New Jersey natives are all from within an hour of Wagner College, with senior Cameron Ward (Bound Brook, N.J.) the closest just across river near Woodbridge Township, just 33-miles away. Freshman Breana Delaney (Marlboro, N.J.) and junior Maureen Stapleton (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) are also both within an hour of the Staten Island campus.

Road Trips
Five of Stonehill's next six games in the month of February will be played on the road, starting with today's matchup at Wagner to kick off a season-long matching three-game road trip. The Skyhawks will play five of seven games this month on the road with their only remaining home game this month on February 17 matchup against former NE10 rival Le Moyne College.

Cam Starts
Stonehill senior Cameron Ward (Bound Brook, N.J.) is projected to make her 20th career start at Wagner this afternoon. She will be the fourth current Skyhawk to reach 20 starts this season, joining classmate Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) and juniors Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) and Maureen Stapleton (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.). Ward will be making her 20th start in her 26th career game played - all coming over the last two seasons.

The Sampson Effect
Stonehill is scoring 57.0 points per game in the eight 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 58.4 points per game in Conference play to rank sixth in the NEC. Stonehill is shooting 35.2-percent from three-point distance in her eight games played, compared to 22.8% over its first 12 games.

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.

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+.

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 continues its season-long matching three-game road trip on Friday, when it visits Le Moyne College for an NEC matchup in Western New York at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks next home game is Saturday, February 17, for the return trip by the Dolphins at Merkert Gym for Stonehill's Alumnae Day Game at 2 p.m.