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The Game
Stonehill College plays its final regular season road game of the season, ending a February stretch in which it played five of seven away from home, by visiting Northeast Conference leaders Sacred Heart University for an NEC matchup inside the William H. Pitt Athletic & Convocation Center tonight. The Skyhawks are aiming to finish the regular season strong and lock up a spot in the upcoming NEC Tournament after posting its first road win of the season with their 66-56 triumph at Saint Francis University on Saturday. The Pioneers are winners of nine-straight after their 73-55 victory at Central Connecticut State University on Saturday.  

Media Information
Tonight's game will be broadcast live on NEC Front Row. Randy Brochu (PBP) has the call of the action along with Joe DeSantis (analyst) on the Sacred Heart 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
Stonehill earned its first road win of the season to strengthen its position among the top eight in the Northeast Conference standings with three games to play after a 66-56 triumph over Saint Francis at DeGol Arena. Seniors Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) and Cameron Ward (Bound Brook, N.J.) combined for 35 points to lead Stonehill's three double-figure scorers and complete a key regular season series sweep of Saint Francis – one of five teams the Skyhawks are battling for the final four spots in the upcoming NEC Tournament. Thornton led the Skyhawks with 18 points and three assists, while Ward contributed 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, five rebounds and two steals. Junior Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) rounded out Stonehill's double-figure scorers with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 2-for-3 from three-point distance, adding four assists and three boards while completing her third-straight 40-minute game. Classmate Maureen Stapleton (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) hauled in double-digit rebounds for the second-straight game (eighth total) with a game-high ten, chipping in two points, two assists and two blocked shots. Kendall Carruthers matched Thornton with 18 points for Saint Francis, adding four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Yanessa Boyd was the only other Red Flash in double-figures with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, five rebounds and two steals.
 
Against the Pioneers
Tonight marks the 22nd meeting all-time between these two programs - the fourth in Stonehill's two-year NCAA Division I era. The Skyhawks own a 17-4 record all-time against Sacred Heart, but the Pioneers have won each of the first three encounters at the Division I level, including an 80-53 victory in Easton back in the first regular season matchup between the two on the first day of the month. Stonehill is 7-1 all-time against Sacred Heart here in Fairfield, but the Pioneers notched a 66-61 triumph in the Skyhawks first visit to the Pitt Center last January. Stonehill head coach Trisha Brown is 0-3 in her career against the Pioneers, while Sacred Heart head coach Jessica Mannetti is 3-0 in her career against the Skyhawks.

Last Time They Met
Sacred Heart took full advantage of Stonehill turnovers to fuel an 80-53 victory in an NEC matchup at Merkert Gymnasium February 1. 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, with two rebounds and two steals off the bench.  Senior Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) and postgrad Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) combined for 36 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 19 points with four rebounds, two assists and a steal, while Sampson came off the bench to add 17 points, a game-high six rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Pioneer Bookends
Stonehill and Sacred Heart met for the first of their two NEC regular season matchups on the first day of February, with the Pioneers posting an 80-53 triumph, in Easton and will also meet on the final day of February with tonight's Leap Day encounter in Fairfield.

Taking a Leap
Tonight's game marks the first time Stonehill has played on Leap Day since 2004 when the Skyhawks dropped a 73-68 decision to Saint Rose. It was the second of two-straight Leap Day games for Stonehill after AIC posted a 70-63 victory in the quarterfinal round of the 2000 NE10 Tournament.

Prime Performer
Stonehill senior Cameron Ward (Bound Brook, N.J.) was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer for the second-straight week by the Conference on Monday. Ward helped guide the Skyhawks to their first road win of the season with Saturday's big 66-56 win at Saint Francis to clinch a key regular season series sweep in the battle for postseason positioning. She totaled 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, with five rebounds and two steals against the Red Flash, marking her fourth double-figure scoring game in Stonehill's last five games. She joins classmate Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.), who has been named a Prime Performer a team-high three weeks, and postgrad Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) in earning the recognition multiple weeks. Four Skyhawks in all have received Prime Performer status this season, all coming over the last eight consecutive weeks, with junior Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) garnering the recognition along with NEC Player of the Week accolades in January.

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.

What's the Scenario?
Stonehill (4-9 NEC) enters tonight's game in sole possession of sixth place in the NEC standings with three games remaining. The Skyhawks, who completed a sweep of the regular season series with Saint Francis on Saturday to hold that head-to-head tiebreaker, still play two of the four other teams they are battling it out with for the final four spots in the postseason. Stonehill is a game behind fifth place Central Connecticut State (5-8), who will visits Merkert Gym on Saturday, and is a game in the loss column ahead of LIU (4-10), who visits Easton next Thursday in the regular season finale, and Saint Francis (4-10). The Skyhawks lead Wagner (3-10) by a full game, having split their regular season series, but Stonehill has that head-to-head by way of its win over FDU who still has one game remaining with Wagner. CCSU and LIU both own head-to-head wins over the Skyhawks with one game each remaining.

A Postseason Run
Stonehill has qualified for its conference tournament every year it has been eligible to do so in program history. The Skyhawks were the only program to compete in all 39 NE10 Women's Basketball Tournaments prior to making the transition to NEC play in 2022. Stonehill reached the NE10 Championship game 11 times, winning the NE10 Tournament Championship six times: 1983, '87, '95, '97, 2008 and 2020.

Road Trips
Tonight's game wraps up Stonehill's regular season road schedule, but also a month of February in which it played five of seven games away from Easton, including five of the last six. The Skyhawks earned their first road win of the season with Saturday's 66-56 victory at Saint Francis, snapping a run of 13-straight road losses dating back to a 69-61 victory at St. Francis Brooklyn on February 11, 2023.

Celebrate with 40
Stonehill improved to 3-1 this season when shooting 40-percent from the field or better with its season-best 48.3-percent shooting at Saint Francis on Saturday.

Thornton

Hayward

30 for 2 & 10
Stonehill senior Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) and junior Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) are both projected to make their 30th career starts at Sacred Heart tonight. The duo will join junior Maureen Stapleton (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) in reaching 30 career starts over the last two weeks after Stapleton reached the milestone against Le Moyne on February 17. Thornton has started 29 of the 79 games she has played over her career, while Hayward has started 29 of 75 career games played.

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.) leads the Conference with a +9.3 points per game scoring average bump from last season, while junior Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) is ranked third with a +6.4 points per game rise. Below is a list of players who have boosted their scoring averages at least 5.0 points per game from last season.

Rise Up!
Senior guard Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) has scored in double-figures in five of Stonehill's last six games and is averaging 16.3 points during that stretch. She has also contributed 3.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 36.7-minutes per game over the last six games. Thornton is ranked 10th among NEC scoring leaders with her 11.0 points per game, while averaging 13.2 points per game in NEC play (9th). She leads the Skyhawks with 15 double-figure scoring games this season (18 career), while leading the team in scoring a team-high 11 games (14 career).

The Full Hayward
Junior guard Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) has played all 40 minutes in three-straight games for the Skyhawks and in seven of their 13 NEC games. She also registered back-to-back 40-minute games against Wagner (1/15) and FDU (1/19) and now leads the NEC with her 38.2 minutes per game in NEC play. She is also fifth among NEC leaders with her team-high 34.2 minutes per game overall this season. Senior Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) is third in the NEC in Conference play with 36.6 minutes per game and ninth overall with her 33.1 minutes per game for the year.

Senior Leadership
Stonehill seniors Jada Thornton (Germantown, Md.) and Cameron Ward (Bound Brook, N.J.) have combined to score 54.8-percent of the Skyhawks points over the last six games, combining for 39 of their 56 points at Merrimack on February 15. Thornton is averaging 16.3 points, while Ward is contributing 13.3 points on 43.8% shooting, over the last six with Stonehill scoring 54.2 points per game.

The Sampson Effect
Stonehill is scoring 57.1 points per game in the 11 games postgrad Lauren Sampson (Waltham, Mass.) has played since joining the rotation after being sidelined the first 12 games of the year after tranferring from 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 51.8 points, including 56.8 points per game in Conference play to rank seventh in the NEC. Stonehill is shooting 32.2-percent from three-point distance in her 11 games played, compared to 22.8% over its first 12 games.

Magic Number
Stonehill improved to 4-3 in its games this season in which is has scored 60-plus points and 4-3 when holding the opposition under 60-points after Saturday's 66-56 win at Saint Francis. The Skyhawks have lost the remaining 18 games in which is has not reached 60-points and dropped all 18 when yielding 60-plus. Stonehill is 3-1 this season when shooting 40-percent from the floor or better after shooting 48.3% at Saint Francis.

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.

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 is right back in action on Saturday, when it hosts Central Connecticut State University for Senior Day at Merkert Gymnasium at 2 p.m. The Skyhawks last two games of the regular season are at home, hosting LIU next Thursday at 6 p.m.