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No. 15 Skyhawks Cruise To An 87-55 Win
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| Kelsey Simonds finshed with 16 points and 12 rebounds - her ninth double-double of the season. |
No. 15 Skyhawks Cruise To An 87-55 Win
North Andover, Mass. No. 15 Stonehill used a devastating 26-10 for the better part of the first half and never looked back en route to a 87-55 win over host Merrimack on Saturday afternoon at the Volpe Center.
The Skyhawks scored a season-high 53 points in the first half on 63 percent shooting and built their lead to as many as 26 in the opening 20 minutes and the Warriors never got closer than 20 for the remainder of the game.
Down 53-27 at the half, Merrimack's Gennifer Roy drained back-to-back three-pointers to ignite the home crowd but the Skyhawks responded with three-pointers from Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine) and Kristen McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H.).
Stonehill had four players in double figures led by a career-high 27 from Rousseau, who made eight-of-11 shots, including her first five.
Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.) recorded her ninth double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.) finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
In addition to its first half offensive explosion, Stonehill set season marks in field goals made (32), assists (28) and fewest turnovers (10).
With the win, the Skyhawks extend their winning streak against the Warriors to eight games and improve to 16-3 overall and 11-3 in the Northeast-10.
In the two games against Merrimack this season, Stonehill went a combined 23-for-49 from behind the arc.
The Skyhawks shot 53 percent from the field in the contest and made 13 of their 14 free throw attempts, marking the fifth time this season Stonehill has shot better than 90 percent from the charity stripe in a game.
Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y.) added 13 points, six assists and four rebounds for the Skyhawks, who had four different players register at least five assists.
Stonehill held a 39-28 edge on the glass and 34-16 advantage on points in the paint.
Roy paced the Warriors with 17 points, while Casey Miller came off the bench to post 12 points. Amanda Shannon, the Northeast-10's second leading scorer was held to 11 points and seven assists on 4-for-16 shooting.
The Skyhawks return to action on Wednesday when they host archrival Bentley. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
