Senior Kelsey Simonds posted a season-high 28 points to go with 11 rebounds for a double-double effort to lead Stonehill past Merrimack tonight.

Simonds Powers #21 Stonehill
Past Merrimack, 85-64

Simonds notches double-double, Rousseau adds 21, as Skyhawks win third-straight

Boxscore 

EASTON, Mass. (November 24, 2009) - Stonehill College, ranked 21^st in this week's USA Today/ESPN/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II preseason poll, opened its Northeast-10 Conference schedule with an 85-64 victory over Merrimack College in women's basketball action at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.

Senior Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) and junior Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) combined for 49 points to lead a Stonehill team which finished shooting 50-percent (32-for-64) from both the field and three-point range (9-18) for the night. Simonds made 10-of-17 shots from the field, including her lone three-point attempt, and converted 7-of-8 free-throws for a season-high 28 points to go with 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots in 29 minutes of play. Rousseau made 8-of-15 shots from the floor, including 3-for-7 from beyond the arc, converting both free-throws for 21 points, six assists and two steals.

Junior Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H./New Hampton Prep) contributed 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 4-for-7 from deep, four assists, three rebound and three blocks.

Sophomore Gennifer Roy (Granby, Conn./Granby) led Merrimack with 20 points, four assists and three rebounds. Freshman Katie Ganser (Needham, Mass./Needham) added 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three-point range, while converting all four free-throws with three rebounds. Senior Casey Miller (Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley) contributed 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, while freshman Kelly Schatzlein (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) chipped in with a team-best 11 rebounds.

Junior Emily Rousseau added 21 points and six assists for the Skyhawks.

Stonehill shot 51.6-percent (16-for-31) from the field in the second half and finished shooting 80% (12-15) from the free-throw line. The Skyhawks posted a 15-4 advantage in points off turnovers and an 11-2 break in second-chance points. Merrimack finished shooting 38.6-percent (22-for-57) from the field, including 6-for-19 (31.6%) from three-point range, but made 14-of-16 (87.5%) free-throws on the night.

All seven lead changes and both ties in the game came in the first 15 minutes of the contest. Merrimack's largest lead of the night was a pair of four-point leads midway through the opening stanza, the latter coming after a Schatzlein jumper with 11:29 to play. A 7-0 Stonehill run resulted in a four-point lead (28-24) after a Rousseau layup with 7:23 left in the half.

Merrimack regained the lead (29-28) after a three by junior Chelsea Shea (South Burlington, Vt.) with 5:09 left before halftime. Stonehill regained the lead and built an 11-point halftime lead (44-33) by closing out the frame with a 16-4 run. Senior Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y./Corning East) scored six of her seven points for the night during that stretch.

Merrimack drew within nine points twice in the opening five and a half minutes of the second half, but could get no closer. Stonehill used a 15-4 run to gain its first 20-point lead of the night (70-50) after a Simonds jumper with 10:09 left. Simonds scored 12 of the Skyhawks 15 points in that stretch, including ten-straight before McWhirter buried a three in the run as well. The Warriors didn't get within 15 the rest of the way.

Stonehill (5-2, 1-0 NE-10) is back in action on Sunday when it visits Saint Michael's College at 1:30 p.m. The Skyhawks return home on Saturday, December 5, to host Southern New Hampshire University at 1:30 p.m. Merrimack (1-4, 0-2 NE-10) hosts the University of Massachusetts Lowell on Sunday at 1 p.m.