Senior Megan Methven matched her season-high with 13 points and moved within eight of the 1,000-point plateau in tonight's win at Southern Connecticut.

Stonehill Wins Third-Straight
at Southern Connecticut, 77-67

Gray and Methven post season-highs to lead Skyhawks to key NE-10 win

Boxscore 

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (January 6, 2010) - Stonehill College, among team's receiving votes in this week's USA Today/ESPN/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II poll, picked up its third-straight win with a 77-67 victory at Southern Connecticut State University in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at James W. Moore Fieldhouse tonight.

Seniors Erin Gray (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y./Corning East) each posted season-high's to lead Stonehill to the key NE-10 win. Gray made 7-of-10 shots from the field and converted 2-of-3 free-throw attempts for a season-best 16 points (two shy of her career-high), while Methven matched her season-best with 13 points on 3-for-7 shooting from the field, including 2-for-5 from three-point range, while converting all five free-throw attempts to go with three steals. Methven is now just eight points shy of becoming the 24^th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

Junior Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) fell just an assist shy of her first career double-double as she finished with 12 points, aided by a 6-for-6 effort at the free-throw line, and a career-high matching nine assists to go with five rebounds. Freshman Anna Griffin (Fairfax, Va./W.T. Woodson) chipped in with a season-best nine points, while sophomore Tania Williams (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward-Melville) grabbed a team-best six rebounds. 

Senior Erin Gray netted a season-best 16 points to lead all scorers on the night.

Junior Logan Lentz (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) led five Southern players in double-figures with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. Classmate Shelley Pierson (Wateruliet, N.Y./Wateruliet) added 13 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench, while senior Jacqueline Johannes (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug) posted a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds (five offensive) and two steals. Senior Allyson Smith (East Hampton, Conn./East Hampton) contributed 13 points (ten first half) and two assists, while junior LaTisha Hatcher (Detroit, Mich./Mt. Clemens) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 points, four rebounds (three offensive) and four assists.

Stonehill finished shooting 52.8-percent (28-for-53) from the field, including a blistering 59.3% (16-27) in the first half, and out-scored Southern Connecticut 18-6 at the free-throw line by converting 72% (18-25) of its attempts. The Skyhawks got solid production from their bench, outscoring the Owl reserves 23-13. SCSU shot 42.4-percent (28-for-66) for the night, but were just 6-for-14 (42.9%) from the line.

Stonehill never trailed, but its lead was just four (55-51) after a Pierson layup with 13:45 left in the contest. The Skyhawks took control with nine-straight points to push their lead into double-figures for the first time (64-51) after a Gray layup with 10:56 remaining. Junior Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H./New Hampton Prep) sparked the run with a three-pointer.

Two free-throws from Griffin pushed the Stonehill lead to a game-high 14 points (66-52) with 8:32 to play. Southern closed within seven (68-61) with 5:50 on the clock following a conventional three-point play from Lentz and put back from Hatcher to cap a 9-2 run.

Methven converted a three-point play to push the Stonehill lead back to ten (71-61) with 4:02 left, but Southern made one more push to within six (71-65) with 2:41 remaining after baskets from Lentz and Pierson. That would be as close as the Owls would get as Gray answered with a put back at the other end and Rousseau sealed the win with four-straight free-throws in the final 63-seconds while SCSU came up empty on their next four possessions before scoring the final basket of the game.

Stonehill (11-4, 6-2 NE-10) returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Pace University at 1:30 p.m. Southern Connecticut (8-5, 5-3 NE-10) visits Bentley University on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.