EASTON, Mass. (March 10, 2025) – Four different Skyhawks earned Northeast Conference yearly honors after leading the Stonehill College women's basketball team to an 11-5 record in league play, the conference announced on Monday.
 
Sophomore Brooke Paquette (Hudson, N.H.) was named Most Improved Player and given Second Team All-Conference honors while graduate student Kylie Swider (Portsmouth, R.I.) earned Newcomer of the Year and a First-Team All-Conference nod. Senior Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania) joins Swider as a First Team All-Conference member and freshman Megan Sias (Toms River, N.J.) rounds out the Skyhawks' award winners, earning All-Rookie Team honors.
 
Hayward and Swider mark the 26th and 27th first-team all-conference performers in program history, dating back to Stonehill's first year in the NE10 in 1981-82. With Paquette being named to the second team, the Skyhawks have totaled 57 all-league honorees over their 54-year history. Sias earns the ninth all-rookie team nod in program history and first at the Division I level. The four Skyhawks each played in all 29 games this season, with Hayward, Swider, and Paquette starting every contest. Sias was a key rotational piece, coming off the bench in all 29 games. Head coach Trisha Brown has coached 35 of the 57 all-conference performers including five All-NEC honorees since joining the NEC.
 
Paquette, along with Swider, was a major award winner, being the first Skyhawk to win the NEC's Most Improved Player award. Paquette enjoyed one of the largest scoring jumps in the conference, going from 6.0 points per game as a rookie last season to 13.0 per game this year, the 10th-best mark in the NEC. She also went from 1.7 assists per game a year ago to ranking first in the conference, dishing out 4.7 per game this season. Her shooting splits increased at all three levels, improving from 29.7/27.7/69.6 as a freshman to 39.4/30.6/83.2.
 
Paquette earned one Player of the Week award and seven Primer Performer nods this year, tied for the second most on the team. Paquette has scored in double figures in 9 straight games, the longest active streak on the team, averaging 17.8 points per game over that stretch as the Skyhawks head into NEC tournament action tonight. Paquette led Stonehill in scoring eight times with the Skyhawks going 4-4 in such games, while leading the team in assists 17 times. Paquette also ranks third in the conference in minutes per game, averaging 35.3 per game.
 
Swider earns the first-ever Newcomer of the Year award as the NEC introduced the award this season to highlight the transfer student who made the biggest impact on their new team. Swider's impact was immense this season for the Skyhawks, leading the team in rebounding at 8.8 per game, the second-best mark in the conference. She also ranks tied for second on the team in scoring at 13.0 points per game, the 10th highest average in the NEC. The Villanova transfer joins Hayward as a First Team All-Conference member, the first Skyhawks to receive the honor since Emily Bramanti, '23 was named to the NEC's First Team after the 2022-23 season.
 
Swider earned herself two NEC Player of the Week nods this season and was named a Prime Performer on seven occasions. She led the team with nine double-doubles and 12 double-digit rebounding efforts to go with 20 double-digit scoring games and four 20-point performances. Swider also made her presence felt on the defensive end, ranking third in the conference with 33 blocks, 1.1 per game, recording at least three blocks in four games this season. The Portsmouth, R.I. native shot the ball at an exceptional rate from the field this season, ranking third in the conference at 50.6% (169-334).
 
Hayward was also chosen by the eight other NEC coaches as an All-Conference First Team selection after recording a program record 11 Prime Performer nods and three Player of the Week awards. Hayward has excelled from deep for the Skyhawks, putting together one of the best seasons in Stonehill history. Her 99 three-pointers made this season shatters 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, with Walsh being next up on the list at 213.
 
Hayward's 16.1 points per game leads the team and ranks second in the conference while her 38.4% (99-258) clip from deep and 86.0% (49-57) mark from the free throw line also rank second in the NEC. The Penguin, Tasmania native ranks third in the country and tops in the conference with 3.4 three-pointers per game and 258 three-point attempts. Her 99 threes made is the fifth most in all of DI.
 
The senior guard has led Stonehill in scoring in 15 games with the Skyhawks being 9-6 on such occasions. She has a team-best 24 double-digit scoring games as well as nine games with at least 20 points. She leads the team and the conference in minutes per game at 36.6 a night. Hayward has also recorded 4+ threes in 15 games this season, topping out at nine threes made against Saint Francis on January 4.
 
Sias becomes the first Skyhawk to earn All-Rookie Team accolades since joining the NEC in 2022-23 and the first since Kayla Raymond, '22, was named NE10 Rookie of the Year in 2019. Sias was named Rookie of the Week twice this season and got one Prime Performer nod. She led all Stonehill bench players in minutes per game (18.5), points per game (8.4), threes made (16), free throws made (39), rebounds per game (4.0), assists (22), steals (10), and blocks (9).
 
Sias's 8.4 points per game are the most by a Skyhawk rookie since Raymond averaged 16.2 per game during her Rookie of the Year campaign in 2018-19. Sias ended the season on a high note, scoring in double figures in five straight games and six of the final seven, averaging 13.1 points per contest over that stretch.
 
The freshman from Toms River, N.J. ranks third among freshmen scorers in the conference and fourth on the Skyhawks. She also ranks second among first-years in rebounding, a mark that is third-best on the team and puts her at 18th in the conference. Sias led Stonehill in scoring three times this season and tallied double-digit scoring figures 11 times.
 
In their regular season finale on Thursday, the Skyhawks defeated Wagner, 68-60, to lock up the No. 2 seed for the upcoming NEC Tournament. In addition to the seeding being the highest in program history, the Skyhawks' 11 wins in conference play are the most since joining the NEC in 2022-23.

The Skyhawks will host No. 7 seeded Wagner in the quarterfinal round of the NEC Championships tournament at 7 p.m. in the Skyhawks' first home playoff game at the Division I level tonight.

Tickets for home Stonehill basketball games can be purchased in advance online at stonehillskyhawks.com/tickets.

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