#21 Stonehill Edges Saint Michael's
in OT, 67-63
Simonds double-double leads
Skyhawks to fourth-straight win
Boxscore
Junior Kristen McWhirter scored seven of Stonehill's 12
overtime points, with two big three-point plays, finishing with 17
points to help lead the Skyhawks to an overtime win at Saint
Michael's today.
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COLCHESTER, Vt. (November
29, 2009) - Stonehill College, ranked 21st in
the USA Today/ESPN/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)
Division II preseason poll, needed an extra five minutes, but
claimed its fourth-straight win with a 67-63 overtime decision
against Saint Michael's College in Northeast-10 Conference women's
basketball action at Ross Sports Center this afternoon.
Senior Kelsey Simonds
(Middleboro, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) led Stonehill with
her second-straight double-double performance with 19 points on
7-of-19 shooting from the field while converting all five
free-throw attempts to go with a game and season-high 12 rebounds
(four offensive) and two blocked shots.
Junior Kristen McWhirter
(Melvin Village, N.H./New Hampton Prep) added 17 points on
4-of-8 shooting, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, while
converting 7-of-9 free-throws to go with seven rebounds and four
assists. Classmate Emily Rousseau (Biddeford,
Maine/Biddeford) contributed ten points and four assists,
while senior Stephanie Pintal (Nashua, N.H./Nashua
South) chipped in ten points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Senior Alexis Keller
(Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan) led Saint Michael's
with a game-high 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four
steals in 41 minutes. Classmate Michelle Otey
(Southborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) added 15 points,
seven rebounds and three steals, while junior Logan Pintka
(Schenectady, N.Y./Colonie Central) chipped in 12 points
and five boards.
Stonehill made 9-of-13 free-throws
in overtime to provide the difference. Junior Meghan
McCormack (Barrie, Ontario/Saint Peter's Secondary School)
buried a three-pointer with two seconds left in regulation to force
the extra period after Rousseau had put the Skyhawks up three with
a jumper with 1:17 to go.
McWhirter gave Stonehill the early
advantage in overtime when she was fouled on a three-point attempt
and converted all three free-throw attempts to put the Skyhawks up
three (58-55) with 3:41 left. Stonehill shot just 1-for-5
(20-percent) from the field in the extra frame, but that one field
goal was a McWhirter three with 1:28 left that put the Skyhawks up
five (64-59). Saint Michael's drew within one (64-63) on a Pintka
layup with 45-seconds to go, but the Purple Knights missed their
last three field goal attempts and Stonehill connected on three of
its last four free-throws to ice the victory.
Stonehill finished shooting
41.1-percent (23-for-56) from the field for the afternoon,
including 46.2% (12-26) in the second half, while Saint Michael's
shot 30.6-percent (22-for-72) from the field overall. The game
featured seven ties and 14 lead changes throughout. Stonehill's
largest lead of the night was an early ten-point advantage (19-9)
after a layup by sophomore Tania Williams (South Setauket,
N.Y./Ward-Melville) with 6:44 left in the first half.
Saint Michael's never led by more than a point all afternoon.
Stonehill (6-2, 2-0 NE-10) is back
in action on Wednesday when it visits Saint Anselm College at 5:30
p.m. The Skyhawks return home next Saturday, December 5, to host
Southern New Hampshire University at 1:30 p.m. Saint Michael's
(2-2, 1-2 NE-10) travels to Southern New Hampshire on Wednesday at
5:30 p.m.
