Press Release

PURPLE KNIGHTS DEFEATED BY STONEHILL, 75-66   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION November 27, 2005                                                                Contact: Seth Cole Courtesy Stonehill College Sports Information                          Phone: (802) 654-2537 EASTON, Mass.-- Sophomore Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine) scored a career-high 19 points and freshman Kelsey Simonds (Bridgewater, Mass.) added her second straight double-double effort with 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead Stonehill to a 75-66 Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball victory over Saint Michael's Sunday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium. The host Skyhawks (5-0, 2-0 Northeast-10), who are off to their first 5-0 start since December 1995, overcame a four-point halftime deficit (31-27) by shooting 52 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes of play, as Stonehill opened the second half with a 15-5 run to turn that deficit into a six-point advantage at 44-36 on a Simonds lay-in with 14:00 minutes to play in the contest. The hosts built that margin to as many as 11 points (59-48) before the visiting Purple Knights (2-1, 0-1 Northeast-10) used an 11-4 run of their own over a 3:10 stretch to slice their deficit to four with under three minutes remaining. The Skyhawks maintained as much as a seven-point lead in the closing minutes, as six key free throws by Stupinski and Simonds in the final 35 seconds iced Stonehill's triumph. Stupinski led five Skyhawks in double figures with her effort, as both Simonds and junior Alisha Collins (Port Chester, N.Y.) each netted 15 points on the afternoon. Junior Caitlin Kennedy (Baldwin, N.Y.) joined Simonds in notching a double-double effort by posting 11 points and 10 rebounds for Stonehill, which also received 12 points from senior Bethany Roderigue (Winslow, Maine). The Skyhawks shot 46 percent for the contest and held a 42-26 rebounding edge (16-8 on the offensive glass alone) in overcoming 22 turnovers, including 15 in the first half alone. Junior Dani Rayner (Westminster, Vt.) scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the setback for Saint Michael's, which jumped out to an early 10-2 lead in shooting 44 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of action. Junior Jevy Rayner (Westminster, Vt.) added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Purple Knights, who also received 11 points off the bench from sophomore Allison Dunn (Wippany, N.J.). The visitors shot 40 percent from the field (38 percent in the second half) and connected on seven three-pointers, but Stonehill claimed its fifth straight win in the series with Saint Michael's and its 38th triumph in 46 all-time meetings between the two schools. Stonehill travels to Manchester, N.H. on Wednesday evening to take on Saint Anselm in a Northeast-10 outing that begins at 5:30 p.m., while Saint Michael's hosts 11th-ranked Bentley in a Northeast-10 match-up on Wednesday evening in Colchester, Vt. that also begins at 5:30 p.m. ###PURPLEKNIGHTS###

For more information please contact the SMC Sports Information Office at (802) 654-2537
Last Revised: October 25, 2002