Box Score

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball traveled up to Easton, Mass. for a Northeast-10 Conference match-up, and was defeated by No. 8 Stonehill College, 63-45, on Tuesday night at Merkert Gymnasium. With the loss, the Owls have now dropped three in a row, descending to an overall record of 3-5, 1-5 in Northeast-10 Conference competition. The eighth ranked team in the nation continued its early season successes improving to 8-1, 6-1 in the league.

The Skyhawks jumped out to an early lead as they began the game with a 17-9 run in the first 5:43 of action. However, the Owls refused to go away early behind the clutch shooting of junior Jacqueline Johannes (Southbury, Conn.). Johannes scored 10 points and pulled down six rebounds in the first half, cutting the lead down to six points with 3:42 remaining in the first half. In the closing minutes, a Skyhawks three-pointer and lay-up extended the lead to 11, until Johannes nailed a shot from behind the arc in the closing seconds of the half. The Owls trailed by eight heading into the intermission.

In the second half, the front court of the Skyhawks was just too much to handle for the Owls. Forwards Kelsey Simonds and Brittany Tighe continued to control the paint, extending the Skyhawk lead to 22 with 9:37 remaining in the game. Southern pressed in the closing minutes, cutting the lead down to 14 after consecutive lay-ups by Lexi Allen (Southbury, Conn.) and Lauren Allen (Sterling Heights, Mich.), but the Skyhawks settled in down the stretch for their eighth victory of the season.

Simonds and Tighe each performed very well for the Skyhawks. Simonds scored a game-high 20 points and hauled in 13 rebounds, while Tighe netted 18 points and pulled in 13 rebounds in the victory.

Lauren Allen registered a career-high 14 points on 7-10 shooting, grabbed three rebounds and had six of the team's 23 steals on the night. Lexi Allen poured in 11 points of her own, while Johannes recorded 10 points, seven rebounds and seven steals for the Owls. SCSU played tough defense throughout the game, forcing 34 turnovers leading to 28 points.

The women's basketball team will head to Bridgeport, Conn. for the second game of their five game road trip. The Owls will take on the University of Bridgeport on Dec. 20 at 2 p.m.