Junior Kelsey Simonds' 16.6 points per game helped lead the Skyhawks to their first outright Northeast-10 title since 1994-95.

Ex-Spellman star paces Skyhawks to league title

By Monique Walker, Boston Globe Staff

Sitting with a big grin on her face in the middle of the Stonehill College women's basketball photo, wearing her number 22 white uniform with purple lettering, Kelsey Simonds grips a basketball with fellow team captain Erika Stupinski, surrounded by their teammates and coaches.

She didn't play a game last season because of a broken foot, yet she made enough of an impact on her Skyhawk teammates to be chosen a team captain as a junior.

Now the 2005 Cardinal Spellman graduate is showing her value on the court.

In the Skyhawks' regular-season finale, a 63-57 victory at Saint Anselm on Tuesday night that secured the program's first Northeast-10 Conference title outright since the 1994-95 season, Simonds delivered a game-high 25 points along with 10 rebounds.

The win gave Stonehill (23-4 overall, 19-3 NE-10) home-court advantage throughout the Northeast-10 tournament, which will tap off with a quarterfinal in North Easton on Tuesday night.

As the most exciting part of the season begins, Simonds can appreciate what it means to be in the middle of it all.

The 6-foot-3 forward arrived at Stonehill with an extensive resume of high school success. The Bridgewater native was a key part of Spellman's streak of four consecutive appearances in the Division 3 South sectional final. She was twice selected the Catholic Central League MVP and collected more than 1,500 points and rebounds in her years playing for coach Pat Lamb.

Stonehill coach Trisha Brown had many opportunities to see Simonds play and was impressed with her control and her range of skills.

"She got everybody around her involved with the offense," Brown said. "She was really good at sharing the ball, and she was an unselfish player."

Simonds considered a number of college programs, including the University of Hartford, Holy Cross, and Siena, all Division 1 schools, but Stonehill's Division 2 program, proximity to home, and academic reputation won out.

It didn't hurt that her father, Charlie Simonds, played basketball at Stonehill (1977) and was recently inducted into the school's Hall of Fame, or that her family, which includes six siblings, could routinely attend Stonehill games.

During her first season, it was clear that Simonds found a team where she could flourish. She was selected the NE-10's top freshman, averaging 10.3 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. But as Stonehill prepared for the NCAA tournament, Simonds was dealing with a broken foot she suffered in the conference tournament.

"I've rolled my ankle so many times, that I knew this was different," Simonds said.

The injury was a fractured bone on the outside of her left foot that had to be reconnected with a screw. Simonds made it through the summer rehabbing and working toward her sophomore season, but in the preseason she went up for a rebound and came down and broke the same foot again.

This time, doctors advised Simonds to sit out the season after another surgery to connect the broken bone with a screw.

"The hardest part was knowing I couldn't help my teammates," Simonds said.

Simonds continued to work with trainers and showed up at practices and games but had to accept that she could not play.

"It was the first major injury that she ever had," Charlie Simonds said. "It's pretty traumatic when you think of your foot breaking. It doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but when you're an athlete and you're running and playing, it's a big deal."

The biggest disappointment for Simonds was not having the opportunity to play with Stonehill's four seniors last season, but she tried to make the best of the situation and use her time to lift weights and learn more about the game.

"That has made her a stronger leader for us this year," Brown said. "It speaks volumes to her character that the kids elected her captain after she was out for a whole year."

Stonehill may have surprised many with its run to the top of the conference this season, but the Skyhawks had a number of players ready to contribute.

Stupinski, a senior point guard from Maine, missed most of last season with a shoulder injury.

Junior Bethany Tighe of North Easton chips in 10.7 points a game, second to Simonds's team-leading 16.6 points and 8.2 rebounds.

Playing just her second season, Simonds has two years of eligibility left after this year, and when she talks about the future, she specifically mentions her teammates, a trait that has impressed her coach.

"The thing that is amazing is that [Simonds] doesn't really understand how good she is and how good she can be," Brown said. "There's still so much development for Kelsey and by the time she graduates, I think a lot of records will have fallen."