Game Notes as a PDF

MAKING A POST-SEASON PUSH
The Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team carries a three-game winning streak into this week's action. The Owls host Pace on Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. before traveling to American International for a 3:30 p.m. contest on Saturday.

A DEFENSIVE RESURGENCE
The Owls have allowed just an average of 42 points per game over the last three contests, all victories.

BALANCED ACROSS THE BOARD
Southern Connecticut had three players in double figures - Moni Smith-Ocran, Alex Fiola and Shelley Pierson - against New Haven. In all, six players tallied at least seven points on the afternoon.

DIS-CHARGED
Freshman Moni Smith-Ocran posted double-doubles in both wins over New Haven thanks to identical lines of 12 points and 13 rebounds.

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT PICTURE SHAPING UP
With five games remaining in the regular season, the Owls are one game back of the final spot in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. SCSU is 5-12 in league action, one game behind UMass-Lowell. However, the Owls defeated the RiverHawks on Jan. 29 and hold the tiebreaker against UML.

THREE-PEAT
The Owls are in the midst of their second three-game winning streak of the year, having also captured three straight victories to open the 2010-11 season.

ROAD GAMES ROUTINE LATELY
Southern Connecticut has won three consecutive road games heading into Saturday's contest at AIC.

OWLS CONTINUE WINNING WAYS
The Owls defeated Le Moyne, 54-48 in their last game on Wednesday. Keshia Primo and Sylvonya Moore combined for 34 out of the team's 54 points. Sophomore Camille Fantini led the team with a career-high 10 rebounds.

DEFENSE WINS GAMES
Defeating UMass-Lowell 42-38, the Owls recorded their lowest point total merited against any opponent since January 10, 2008.

BIG WIN ON THE ROAD
With the win at UMass-Lowell, the Owls snapped a seven-game losing streak. Sophomore Keshia Primo led the team with 11 points and senior Shelley Pierson grabbed 16 boards in the win. Pierson set a career-high in rebounds with 16.

PRIMO LEADS OWLS AGAINST MERRIMACK
Sophomore forward Keshia Primo led the Owls in scoring with 15 points against Merrimack. Primo was 7-for-14 from the floor and one-for-two beyond the arc.

PIERSON RECORDS A DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior Shelley Pierson recorded her sixth double-double on the season against Southern New Hampshire. She went 4-for-7 from the floor, 3-for-3 from the free throw line and grabbed 12 boards.

FOUR SCORED AND...
Southern Connecticut had four players in double figures - Sylvonya Moore, Keshia Primo, Shelley Pierson and Logan Lentz - against Bentley.

GUARDS CRASHING THE BOARDS
Logan Lentz and Lauren Allen both matched career-highs with six rebounds against Bentley.

GOOD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN YOU PLAY DEFENSE
The equation has been pretty straightforward for the Owls this year - strong defensive efforts translate into victories. Southern Connecticut is allowing just 50.1 points per game in its nine wins and meriting 67.5 points per game in its 13 losses. The Owls haven't allowed more than 60 points in any win, but have allowed more than that figure in 11 of their 13 losses.

SMITH DOES MORE WITH LESS
Freshman Moni Smith-Ocran enjoyed two straight strong efforts against New Haven and Stonehill. Despite playing just 15 minutes against New Haven, she just missed out on a double-double with eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds. She also played 15 minutes at Stonehill and tallied her second double-double of the year with 12 points and 12 boards.

WE ARE WHO WE ARE
Thanks to a strong stretch recently, sophomore Keshia Primo has jumped into double digits in scoring and is now averaging 10.1 points per game on the year.

PIERSON TALLIES ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior Shelley Pierson finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Bentley. She hit on 7-of-9 shots from the floor in the game.

KNOCKING OFF A NATIONALLY RANKED SQUAD
Playing in its first ranked opponent of the year, Southern Connecticut picked up a 71-60 win at No. 10 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce on Dec. 11. Sylovnya Moore had a career-high 26 points while senior Shelley Pierson tallied a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Moore also set a new career-high in assists (six).

INDIVIDUALS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS
Entering the week, senior Shelley Pierson was third in the Northeast-10 Conference in field goal percentage (.559) and in rebounds/game (9.4). She is also second in defensive rebounds/game (7.2) and ninth in blocks/game (0.95). In addition, Logan Lentz was seventh in assists/game (3.8) and fifth in assist-turnover ratio (1.33). Moni Smith-Ocran also ranks fifth in offensive rebounds/game (2.8).

CLEANING THE GLASS
Entering the week, the Owls ranked first in the league in offensive rebounds/game (15.5) and second in the Northeast-10 Conference in rebounding offense (40.5 per game).

GRAND THEFT
The Owls are fourth in the Northeast-10 in steals/game (9.1).

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
Southern Connecticut is third in the Northeast-10 with 5.9 made three-pointers per contest.

LENDING A HELPING HAND
The Owls are sixth in the Northeast-10 with 14.3 assists per game.

IN THE ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST PACE
The Owls lead the all-time series against Pace by a 16-13 margin.

IN THE ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST AIC
AIC leads the all-time series against the Owls by a 19-12 margin.

WE WANT MOORE
Junior guard Sylvonya Moore was named to the Northeast-10 weekly honor roll on Nov. 29 for her play against Pace and AIC. Moore began the week by compiling a double-double, scoring a career-high 24 points, while hauling in 14 rebounds at Pace on Nov. 23. She then scored 10 points against AIC on Nov. 28 while also adding eight rebounds.

STEPPING UP
Shelley Pierson has become a reliable component to the Owls offense this season. Pierson is averaging 9.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest.

FALL RIVER DREAMS
One hundred and thirty-two of the 151 shots that Alex Fiola has attempted this year have been from behind the three-point arc.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Freshman Moni Smith-Ocran captured Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Week for her efforts against Queens and Bridgeport during the opening weekend. She scored seven points with seven rebounds in the season opener against Queens and, in the victory over Bridgeport, scored 12 points and hauled in 13 rebounds. For the season, she is averaging 4.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

CRUSHING THE COMPETITORS
As the Owls completed their first weekend of the season, Southern was in control. In neither game did they let their opponent take the lead, nor be within 10 points at halftime. Senior Shelley Pierson controlled the court totaling 30 points and 18 rebounds. On the weekend, the Owls forced 45 turnovers and scored 54 points as a result.

WINNING IN THE CLASSROOM
Out of the 34 student-athletes from Southern Connecticut awarded the Academic Achievement Award, senior Logan Lentz and junior Alex Fiola were among those chosen representing the women's basketball team.

BACK TO BACK HONORS
Senior guard Logan Lentz was named to Northeast-10 Conference All-Academic Team honors for the second straight year in 2010. An exercise science major, she has a 3.95 cumulative grade point average.

LEADING THE TEAM
Head Coach Meghan Brown has announced that senior Logan Lentz and juniors Alex Fiola and Lauren Allen will serve as team captains for the 2010-11 season.

LOOKING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The Owls are looking forward to the contribution of four new student-athletes - Sylvonya Moore, Keshia Primo, Shaniqua Fuller and Moni Smith-Ocran.

STRONG GROUP RETURNING
Southern welcomes back seven student-athletes for last year's team.

IN THE NORTHEAST-10 PRESEASON POLL
Southern Connecticut was picked 12th in the league's preseason poll.

ON DECK
The Owls are back in action on Feb. 16 for a home game against Adelphi.