Game Notes

THE WEEK AHEAD

The No. 21 Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team will host Assumption on Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. at Moore Field House.

LAST SEASON VS. ASSUMPTION: GAME 1

SCSU lost the first meeting with Assumption last season, 69-48. Mariah Hankton scroed nine points and Camille Fantini chipped in with eight for the Owls.

LAST SEASON VS ASSUMPTION: GAME 2

The Owls were able to capture a victory the second time the two teems met at home, 71-63. Camille Fantini had seven steals, seven points and eight rebounds, while Moni Smith-Ocran had nine points and 10 rebounds. 

LAST TIME OUT 

No. 21 Southern Connecticut beat Saint Thomas Aquinas last Saturday, 63-54. Moni Smith-Ocran led the way for the Owls, scoring 16 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. 

SMITH-OCRAN TALLIES THIRD DOUBLE-DOUBLE

Junior forward Moni Smith-Ocran now has three double-doubles on the year after last Saturday's contest vs. Saint Thomas Aquinas. 

BEATHEA RECEIVES ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Freshman forward Jackie Beathea was named the Northeast-10 Conference Rookie Of The Week for her performances last week. Beathea scored 20 points and pulled down 15 rebounds at Adelphi on 11/14 and had nine points and nine board vs. Saint Thomas Aquinas. 

SMITH-OCRAN NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Junior forward Moni Smith-Ocran was named the Northeast-10 Conference Player Of The Week for her performance against Dowling on 11/10. Smith-Ocran had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the Owls opener. 

BEATHEA RECORDS FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE

Freshman Jackie Beathea recorded her first career double-double on 11/14 in a loss to Adelphi. Beathea pulled down 15 rebounds to go with her team-high 20 points. 

OWLS DEFEAT DOWLING

Southern Connecticut opened its 2012-13 season on 11/10  with a win against Dowling, 70-68, in a thrilling non-conference game. Camille Fantini hit a game-winning three with 28 seconds left in the game to lift the Owls. 

SMITH-OCRAN POSTS DOUBLE-DOUBLE

Junior Moni Smith-Ocran posted her first double-double of the year on 11/10 vs. Dowling. She scored a team-high 18 points, while pulling down 12 rebounds in the win. 

ALL-TIME VS. ASSUMPTION

SCSU leads the all-time series against Assumption by a 16-15 margin. 

IN SEASON OPENERS

The Owls are now 29-10 in season-opening games since 1974-75. SCSU has won its last five season openers.

IN THE NE-10 PRESEASON POLL

The Owls have been selected fourth in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason poll. They finished second in the regular season standings last year.

IN THE NATIONAL POLL

SCSU has been selected No. 21 in  the USA Today Sports/ESPN Top 25 coaches preseason poll. They are also No. 16 in the Division II Bulletin preseason rankings. 

WELCOME TO THE CLUB

The Owls welcome seven newcomers to the squad for the 2012-13 season - Katie Stopera, Danielle Powell, Nicole Grossbard, Amani Lightbourne, Jackie Beathea, Liz McKinley and Trinity Barnes. 

VETERAN PRESENCE 

Southern Connecticut returns four players from last year's squad - Mariah Hankton, Camille Fantini, Jacqueline Deens and Moni Smith-Ocran.

OWLS ENJOY STELLAR CAMPAIGN

The Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team closed the 2011-12 campaign with a 25-6 overall record and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Along the way, the Owls also advanced to the finals of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament.

WIN IMPROVEMENT TOPS IN DIVISION II

The Owls improved from 11 wins in 2010-11 to 25 victories in 2011-12, which marked the best win improvement (+14) in all of Division II from the two campaigns.

OWLS FINISH NO. 24 IN NATIONAL POLL

Southern Connecticut concluded the 2011-12 season ranked No. 24 in the national ranking in the WBCA/ESPN Division II poll. SCSU had been ranked as high as No. 18 during the course of the season.

SCSU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

The 2012 appearance marked the sixth appearance all-time for the Owls in the tournament. SCSU is 13-5 all-time in the NCAA tournament and has won at least one game in each of the six appearances.

SMITH-OCRAN SETS REBOUNDS RECORD

Moni Smith-Ocran set a new single season record last year, recording 307 total rebounds. That broke Melissa Palmer's record of 296 that was set during the 1987-88 campaign. 

BROWN EARNS ARRAY OF ACCOLADES

Head coach Meghan Brown was named a finalist for the 2012 National Coach of the Year award in addition to her selection as WBCA Regional and Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year.

TWO OWLS EARN ALL-CONFERENCE LAURELS

Two student-athletes were awarded year-end honors from the Northeast-10 Conference. Sylvonya Moore was named Second-Team All-Conference, while Camille Fantini was named to the Third-Team. 

TWO EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS

Moni Smith-Ocran and Sylvonya Moore were selected to the Northeast-10 All-Tournament team for their performances in helping SCSU reach the finals.

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE

Southern took down three nationally ranked opponents  last year, including No. 22 Assumption, No. 23 Franklin Pierce and No. 5 Bentley. The win over the Falcons snapped their 17-game home winning streak.

EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM

The Owls had seven student-athletes named to the Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll for their work in the classroom during the 2011-12 academic year - Jackie Deens, Alex Fiola, Lauren Allen, Moni Smith-Ocran, Shaniqua Fuller, Mariah Hankton and Keshia Primo.

AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS

Southern finished the 2011-12 season ranked among the Division II leaders in several categories. The Owls were No. 6 in steals/game (13.9) and No. 11 in turnover margin (+5.9). In addition, Camille Fantini closed the year ranked No. 8. among all Division II players in steals/game with an average of 3.5 per outing.

FANTINI JUST MISSES ON STEALS RECORD

Camille Fantini finished just five steals away from setting a new SCSU single-season mark. She had 107 steals on the year, just four back of Geraldine Artis, who registered 111 steals for the Owls during the 1990-91 campaign.

ON DECK

The Owls will on the road at Pace on Nov. 28 at 5:30 p.m.