Box Score #6/9 Stonehill Opens With Big Win
Over Shippensburg, 71-44
Skyhawks shoot 53.3-percent
from the field in opener of Disney Division II East Coast Tip-Off
Classic
Boxscore
Senior Kelsey Simonds led Stonehill with 18 points, seven
rebounds and three blocks in the Skyhawks season-opening win
today.
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.
(November 6, 2009) - Stonehill College, ranked
6th in the Division II Bulletin and 9th in
the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Division II preseason polls, opened its
season with a commanding 71-44 victory over Shippensburg University
on day one of the 2009 Disney Division II East Coast Tip-Off
Classic at The Milk House today.
Senior Kelsey Simonds
(Middleboro, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) led four Stonehill
players in double-figures with 18 points as she made 8-of-12 shots
from the field and converted both free-throw attempts to go with
seven rebounds and three blocked shots. The three blocks give her
181 for her career - just four shy of the program record of 185
held by Sue Patchett (1993-97).
Junior Emily Rousseau
(Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) added 16 points, shooting
6-of-11 from the field, nine rebounds, three assists and two
steals, while sophomore Tania Williams (South Setauket,
N.Y./Ward-Melville) posted a double-double with ten
points, shooting 5-for-6 from the field, and a game-high ten
rebounds. Senior Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y./Corning
East) chipped in with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting off
the bench.
Senior Lauren Beckley
(Fairfield, Pa./Fairfield) scored a game-high 20 points
for Shippensburg on 6-of-17 shooting from the field, including
2-for-7 from three-point range, while converting all six free-throw
attempts to go with a team-high seven rebounds. Junior
Kasey Gardner (Sharpsville, Pa./Sharpsville) added
16 points, three rebounds and three steals.
Stonehill shot 53.3-percent
(32-for-60) from the field, including 56.7% (17-of-30) in the
second half, despite a 1-for-15 effort from three-point range. The
Skyhawks held Shippensburg to 25.9-percent (15-for-58) shooting
from the field overall, including 6-for-32 (18.8%) in the first
half to build a 14-point (34-20) lead.
Beckley hit one of a combined three
three-pointers between the two teams to give Shippensburg a 3-2
lead just over a minute and a half into the game. Stonehill then
took the lead for good with a 14-3 run to take a ten-point lead
(16-6) after a jumper from senior Erin Gray (Clifton Park,
N.Y./Shenendehowa) with 12:15 left in the first half. The
Skyhawks led by as much as 16 (32-16) after a Williams layup with
2:34 left in the half before settling for the 14-point cushion at
the intermission.
Stonehill assumed immediate control
in the second half with a Rousseau jumper pushing its lead over
20-points (43-22) 3:29 in. The Skyhawks lead went under 20 points
just three times the rest of the way, growing to a game-high
29-points (71-42) on a Methven three with 2:57 left.
Stonehill (1-0, 0-0 NE-10) is back
in action tomorrow for day two of the Disney Classic when it faces
19th-ranked Gannon University at 12:15 p.m. The Skyhawks
open their home schedule next Sunday, November 15, when they host
Caldwell College in Merkert Gymnasium at 5 p.m. The game was moved
back three hours from its original start time to accommodate the
NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships which are being held on
campus that day. Shippensburg (0-1, 0-0 PSAC) will face another
Northeast-10 Conference member Southern New Hampshire University
tomorrow at 10 a.m.
