Game Notes
Live Stats
NEC Front Row
Tickets

EASTON, Mass. (Nov. 2 2025) -- Following a successful 2024-25 campaign, the Stonehill women's basketball team will open up its 2025-26 season by hosting Bridgewater State in an exhibition game at Merkert Gymnasium Monday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. The Skyhawks are 2-0 all-time against the Bears.

Stonehill is coming off a 17-16 season a year ago, with the Skyhawks going 11-5 in the NEC and reaching its first NEC conference championship game. Stonehill ultimately earned a berth in the WNIT for the first-time in program history. 

Media Information
Monday night's game will be broadcast on NEC Front Row and Bridgewater TV Access, with Charlie Bergeron and Kara Kelly having the call from Merkert Gymnasium.

Preseason Prognostications
Stonehill was selected second in the NEC by the league's head coaches in its preseason poll announced during the Conference's Virtual Media Day in October. It marked the highest preseason prediction for the Skyhawks over their first four  seasons in the NEC after being picked to finish fourth a year ago. FDU is the unanimous choice to capture the Conference title, followed by the Skyhawks. Chicago State was picked third, Le Moyne was chosen fourth, and Central Connecticut State was selected fifth. Rounding out the teams were Mercyhurst (sixth), Wagner (seventh), LIU (eighth), New Haven (ninth) and Saint Francis (10th).

All-Conference Honors
Junior Brooke Paquette was tabbed to the Preseason All-NEC Team. Last year, Paquette was named Most Improved Player and given second team all-conference honors. Sophomore Megan Sias earned All-NEC All-Rookie Team accolades. With Paquette being named to the second team, the Skyhawks have totaled 57 all-league honorees over their 55-year history. Sias earned the ninth all-rookie team nod in program history and first at the Division I level. Head coach Trisha Brown has coached 35 of the 57 all-conference performers including five All-NEC honorees since joining the NEC.

Eclipsing 1000
Stonehill made program history on Jan. 25, 2025 at Chicago State when the Skyhawks defeated the Cougars, 66-64, to become just the 49th women's basketball program in the NCAA to reach 1,000 wins, with a 1,008-456 (.689) record over its rich history. Heading into the 2025-26 season, Stonehill currently ranks fourth among women's programs in New England behind UConn (1342), Bentley (1206) and Husson (1187). 

Tourney Time
The Stonehill College women's basketball team and head coach Trisha Brown made their first non-conference, postseason appearance at the Division I level, earning an automatic bid into the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) in 2024-25. The WNIT announced the Skyhawks as the automatic qualifier coming out of the NEC. Stonehill faced intrastate rival Massachusetts, falling by a score of 86-40. 

Next Level
Stonehill College announced in early April, 2022, that it had accepted an invitation to join the NCAA Division I NEC, beginning a four-year Division I transition period to conclude in 2026. Earlier this year, the NCAA announced that Stonehill had completed its accelerated reclassification to full NCAA Division I status, effective for the 2025-26 athletic season, and are now eligible for NCAA tournament participation. The Skyhawks entire set of 23 varsity programs now compete in the NEC, with the exception of equestrian, women's ice hockey (NEWHA) and men's ice hockey (independent).

Prime Performers
Four Skyhawks were among NEC Prime Performer selections last season, with Sharn Hayward '25 leading the team with 11 Prime Performer selections, along with three NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow's Office Player of the Week honors. Postgrad Kylie Swider '25 and junior Brooke Paquette followed with seven selections. Sophomore Megan Sias was the first Stonehill freshman to receive NEC Prime Performer honors in its three seasons in the league.

Rising to the Occasion
Stonehill's 17 wins last season more than quadrupuled its win total (4) from the 2023-24 season and is eight more than its total during its inaugural Division I season in 2022-23. The Skyhawks finished non-conference play with a  program-high matching four non-conference wins at the Division I level set in the Skyhawks inaugural NCAA Division I season in 2022-23. Stonehill's 11 NEC wins more than doubled both its totals from last season (four) and 2022-23 (five).

Taking Their Charity
Stonehill shot an NEC-best 80.2-percent from the free-throw line to rank fifth nationall last year. The Skyhawks featured nine players shooting 75-percent from the stripe or better, including Brooke Paquette, who ranked fourth in the conference at 84.5% (98-116).

Junior Surge
Sophomore Brooke Paquette, who averaged 6.0 ppg as a rookie, has more than doubled that average to 13.4ppg last season to rank second among fellow Skyhawks and 10th in the NEC, with 22 double-figure scoring games and five 20-point outings. In addition, her 4.5 assists per game led the NEC after averaging 1.7 per game as a freshman. She has dished out six-or-more assists nine times in 2024-25. For her leap last year, she was named the NEC's Most Improved Player.

Dimes a Dozen
In the 2024-25 campaign, Stonehill led the NEC with 16.6 assists per game, distributing assists on 69.1-percent of its field goals (529-766). The Skyhawks have posted eight games with 20-plus assist, holding an 8-0 record in such games, including 25 at Utah Tech, which is the most by an NEC team against Division I opposition. The Skyhawks added 24 on 29 field goals in its win over Dartmouth. 

Start Fast
Stonehill is 68-14 when leading at the break over the last five seasons, including a 12-3 mark this season. 23 of the Skyhawks 30 wins at the Division I level have come when holding the lead at the intermission.

60 and Under
Stonehill is 60-8 when limiting the opposition to less than 60 points over the last five seasons. The Skyhawks were 10-0 when holding their opponents under 60 last season after going 4-3 in those games in 2023-24, including a 4-2 mark in NEC play.

Getting Defensive
Stonehill is 92-19 when holding its opponents under 40-percent shooting from the field over the last last seasons. The Skyhawks were 13-1 when holding their opponents under 40-percent last season and 3-0 when limiting them to less than 30-percent.

The AARP Rate
Stonehill is 109-30 when scoring 60-plus points over the last six seasons, including 16 of the 17 wins last season. The Skyhawks are 39-10 when netting 70-plus over the last five years including a 9-2 mark a year ago. 

Oh Captains, My Captains
Stonehill will be led by a trio of captains in 2025-26. Graduate student Molly Lynch and juniors Bella Mallory and Brooke Paquette were chosen as captains prior to the season. 

Nice to Meet You
The Skyhawks will face a host of opponents for the first time this season. Stonehill will suit up against Georgetown (Nov. 6), Bethune-Cookman (Dec. 19), Stetson (Dec. 20) and Vanderbilt (Dec. 28) for the inaugural meetings between the schools.

Pro Skyhawk
Former Stonehill women's basketball point guard Sharn Hayward '25, recently signed a deal with the University of Canberra Capitals as a development player. The UC Capitals are part of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), an 8-team professional basketball league in Australia.

After graduating from Stonehill in May, Hayward spent the summer with the Willetton Tigers in the NBL1 West, where she averaged 11.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, helping contribute to a Tigers team that made the finals last season.

Hayward was chosen as an NEC All-Conference first-team selection after recording a program record 11 Prime Performer nods and three Player of the Week awards. Hayward excelled from deep for the Skyhawks, putting together one of the best seasons in Stonehill history. Her 99 three-pointers made throughout the 2024-25 season shattered the single season program record set in 2017-18 by Courtney Walsh, '18, who knocked down 83 shots from long range. Hayward ranks fifth all-time in program history in three-pointers made with 190. Hayward's 16.1 points per game led the team and ranked second in the conference while her 38.4 percent (99-258) clip from deep and 86.0 percent (49-57) mark from the free throw line also ranked second in the NEC.

Hall of Fame Inductee
Stonehill women's basketball associate head coach Marcus Reilly was inducted into the Rhode Island College Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 18. Reilly was inducted along with the 2011-12 Rhode Island College women's basketball team, as Reilly served as the head coach of that squad. The 2011-12 Anchorwomen posted a 25-4 overall record and went 13-1 in the Little East Conference. The 25 victories established a new school record, and the team won its first Little East Conference regular-season title, as well as the Little East Conference tournament. By winning the conference tournament, Rhode Island College clinched the program's first Division III NCAA tournament appearance since 1985. The Anchorwomen reached the second round of the NCAA tournament that season.

Up Next
Stonehill will officially open up the 2025-26 season by visiting Georgetown of the Big East on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. The game, which will be played at McDonough Arena, will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.