A NEW YEAR BEGINS
Winners of five in a row, the Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team is back in action this week with two Northeast-10 Conference contests. The Owls travel to No. 19 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce on Tuesday night before hosting UMass-Lowell on Saturday afternoon. Southern enters the game with a 7-3 overall record and is 5-2 in Northeast-10 play.

DOMINATION AGAINST DOMINICAN
Moni-Smith Ocran posted a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Owls in a convincing 70-32 win over Dominican last time out. The Owls led by as many as 44 in the contest.

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Six different Owls scored at least eight points in the win over Dominican last time out.

FOLLOW THE CAPTAINS LEAD
Senior point guard Alex Fiola netted a season-high 19 points to help lead Southern to a win over Eckerd College.

STILL DIALING LONG DISTANCE
Sixty-four of the 92 shots (70-percent) taken by Alex Fiola this year have been three-point attempts.

ALL-TIME VS. FRANKLIN PIERCE
Franklin Pierce holds a 30-14 advantage in the all-time series with the Owls.

ALL-TIME VS. UMASS-LOWELL
UMass-Lowell holds a 39-20 advantage in the all-time series with the Owls.

SISTER ACT
Saturday's game will be a family affair, as sisters Alex Fiola of Southern Connecticut and Lauren Fiola of UMass-Lowell will face off on the court.

SMITH-OCRAN AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS
Moni Smith-Ocran ranks sixth in the Northeast-10 Conference with an average of 9.2 rebounds per game.

LOOKING TO REPEAT THE TREND
Southern Connecticut defeated the Ravens last season in a non-conference game in Rindge, N.H. Franklin Pierce was ranked No. 10 in the national polls at the time.

CLIMBING TO THE TOP
Southern is No.12 in the country in steals as of the last NCAA statistical rankings announcement on Dec. 19.

MISSING IN ACTION
The Owls continued their dominance as seven players recorded a steal in the 81-57 win over New Haven. Camille Fantini finished with five steals to lead the way, while senior captain Alex Fiola had a career-high four steals.

DOUBLE DOSE
Five Owls scored in double figures in the win over UNH. Leading the way was Sylvonya Moore with 20 points. Moni Smith-Ocran added a double-double for the Owls in the win.

MOORE FUELS COMEBACK
Sylvonya Moore scored a career-high 27 points to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and three steals in the overtime win against AIC. The Owls came back from an eight point halftime deficit to send the game into overtime, where Moore stole the show by scoring all eight of the Owls' points in the extra frame as SCSU went on to win, 71-66.

SHARP SHOOTERS
Efficient shooting aided the Owls in their win over AIC, as they shot 52.8 percent from the field en route to the comeback victory.

CAREER BESTS
The top four leading scorers for the Owls - Sylvonya Moore, Camille Fantini, Moni Smith-Ocran and Alex Fiola - are all enjoying personal bests in scoring average so far this season. Moore is averaging 13.8 points per game to go along with 4.2 rebounds per game; Fantini is averaging 10.5 points per game and 5.7 rebounds a game; Fiola averages 7.1 points and 2.8 rebounds a game, while Smith-Ocran is posting 9.7 points per game to go along with a team-leading 9.2 boards per contest.

IN THE NE-1O PRESEASON POLL
The Owls were selected 13th in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason poll.

MOORE EARNS NE-10 HONORS
Sylvonya Moore was named to the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll for her play against Adelphi and St. Thomas Aquinas. She averaged 19 points per game and totaled nine steals, seven rebounds and eight assists.

LOOKING BACK AT THE YEAR THAT WAS
The Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team concluded its 2010-11 season with 11 wins. The Owls just missed a Northeast-10 Tournament berth.

COMMUNITY SERVICE CUP WINNERS
The team won the Tim Greer Insurance Agency Inc. Community Service Cup for their efforts during the 2010-11 academic year.

COMMUNITY RECOGNITION
The 2010-11 squad was recognized by the Connecticut Department of Higher Education for their outstanding community service efforts. Head coach Meghan Brown and captain Alex Fiola attended an event in Hartford to receive formal recognition for their efforts in April.

ON DECK
The Owls travel to Queens on Jan. 9 for their final non-league game of the year.