Beverly

Stonehill Streak Continues at UMass Lowell, 82-75

Stonehill College maintained its perfect start to the season with an 82-75 victory over the University of Massachusetts Lowell in Northeast-10 Conference women’s basketball action at Costello Athletic Center tonight. Junior forward Asia Ewing (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) notched her first double-double of the season (ninth career) with a season-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, including 2-for-6 from three-point range, while converting 3-of-4 free-throws to go with ten rebounds and two assists to lead the way for Stonehill. Sophomore Tori Faieta (Lynn, Mass./Saint Mary’s) contributed on the glass with a game and career-best 16 rebounds (nine offensive) to go with eight points, two assists and a blocked shot. Sophomore Amy Pelletier (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) came off the bench to net 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-for-7 from three-point range, while converting two free-throw attempts. Junior Mary Louise Dixon (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) added 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and converting 6-of-7 free-throws to go with six rebounds and seven assists, while sophomore Jamie Panton (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) rounded out the Skyhawks double-figure scorers with a career-high 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting with six assists and four boards. Stonehill shot 47.5-percent (29-for-61) from the field and converted 16-of-19 (84.2%) free-throw attempts. The Skyhawks finished shooting 34.8% (8-23) from three-point range, but connected on 7-of-14 (50%) threes in the second half after hitting just 1-of-9 (11.1%) in the opening half. UMass Lowell shot just 37.3-percent (28-75) from the field, including 4-for-22 (18.2%) from beyond the arc, and connected at 33.3% (11-22) from the floor in the second half. Senior Bianca Simmons (Middletown, Conn./Mercy) led UMass Lowell with a game-high 28 points on 8-of-20 shooting, including 2-for-5 from three-point range, while converting all ten free-throw attempts to go with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Freshman Lindsey Doucette (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton) added 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds and two steals, while sophomore Demetria Bell (Braintree, Mass./Tabor Academy) chipped in 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting with five rebounds, three steals and two assists off the bench. UMass Lowell held a two point halftime lead (41-39) and Stonehill leveled the score with a Faieta layup to open the second half. The River Hawks followed with 11 straight points, sparked by a Simmons three-pointer, to gain their largest lead of the night (52-41) after another Simmons three with 16:49 to play. Doucette netted five points during that stretch as well. Stonehill responded with a 13-0 run to regain the lead (54-52) with 14:13 to go after back-to-back three-pointers from Pelletier and Dixon. The game featured 14 lead changes and seven ties and the lead see-sawed back and forth until Dixon followed up another Pelletier three-pointer for a four point cushion (64-60) with 7:47 to play. UMass Lowell drew even (65-65) with two Simmons free-throws with 6:39 on the clock and then took the lead back with another pair of Simmons free-throws with 5:51 to play. Panton buried a three to put Stonehill back in front (68-67) with 5:25 left and the teams traded leads until Dixon was able to give the Skyhawks another four point cushion (77-73) with 2:19 to go. Simmons answered with a layup with 2:08 to play at the other end, but that would prove to be UMass Lowell’s last field goal of the game. Ewing drilled a three for a five point Stonehill lead (80-75) that proved to be clinching basket with 29-seconds to go before adding the final basket on a layup with nine seconds remaining to seal the win. The River Hawks missed their final three shots down the stretch. Stonehill jumped out to a six point lead (8-2) over the first four and a half minutes after a three-pointer and layup from Ewing. UMass Lowell responded with a 10-2 run to take its first lead of the night (12-10) with a Bell layup with 13:29 to play in the half. The River Hawks would go on to lead by as much as six before settling for the two point halftime cushion. Stonehill (6-0, 3-0 NE-10), winners of its first six games of the season for the first time since starting 9-0 in 2007-08, is back in action on Saturday to host Saint Michael’s College at 1:30 p.m. UMass Lowell (3-2, 1-2 NE-10) hosts Merrimack College on Saturday a 2 p.m*Stonehill Athletics