BOX SCORE
EASTON, Mass. - Kelsey Simonds finished with 17 points and
seven rebounds as No. 15 Stonehill College held off Southern New
Hampshire University with a 71-64 Northeast-10 women's basketball
victory at Merkert Gymmasium Wednesday night. The Skyhawks
improved to 19-4 and 15-3 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now
11-13 and 7-11 in league play.
Simonds was one of three Skyhawks
in double figures. Bethany Tighe totaled 13 points and eight
rebounds, while Erica Stupinski scored 11 points and handed out
eight assists.
Sara Tucker (Red
Hook, NY) was the lone SNHU player in double figures as she totaled
17 points. Stephanie Houghton (Manchester,
NH) added nine points and four assists, while Ashara
Carrington (Marblehead, MA) added eight points.
Stonehill jumped out to an 11-2
lead less than three minutes into the game but the Penmen would use
a 16-2 run to take a 18-13 lead with 9:20 left before halftime on a
layup by Julia Houghtaling (Franconia, NH).
Carrington had given the Penmen the lead at the 10:47 mark on a
layup. The remainder of the half would feature four ties and
three lead changes, with a basket by Houghtaling with 2:30 left
gave SNHU a 26-25 lead it would not relinquish, as it went into
halftime up 28-27.
After three lead changes early in
the second half, Stonehill would score nine unanswered points and a
basket by Tighe with 12:31 to go gave the Skyhawks a 44-37
lead. Southern New Hampshire would counter with a 10-2 run
and a Houghton basket just shy of the midway point of the half gave
the Penmen a 47-46 lead.
The Skyhawks and Penmen would trade
the lead two more times before Stonehill went in front for good
when it used a 10-2 spurt to take a 61-56 lead with 4:43 left on a
three by Erin Gray. SNHU would get within three with 4:25
left on a pair of free throws by Alyssa Whitney
(Somerville, MA), but that would be as close as the guests would
get.
Stonehill took 16 more trips to the
free throw line than Southern New Hampshire, going 21-26 from the
charity stripe while the Penmen were 6-10. The Skyhawks also
held a 36-32 rebounding advantage.
Southern New Hampshire returns to
action Tuesday evening when it hosts Le Moyne College for a 5:30
contest.
