Complete Game Notes as a PDF | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Roster | Season Stats

The Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team will cap off 2017 with two games this week. On Thursday, the Owls will travel to Kingston, R.I. for a 2 p.m. out-of-conference matchup against NCAA Division I squad, the University of Rhode Island. On Sunday, they will travel to Old Westbury, N.Y. for a New Year's Eve showdown with NYIT. This matchup is set for 1 p.m.

ALL-TIME VS. URI
Southern Connecticut and Rhode Island were annual rivals in the 1970's and early 1980's. The Owls hold a 6-4 edge in the all-time series. The last time that these teams faced off was on January 20, 1983, a 64-56 Rams win. Ironically, the Owls won the first six meetings in the all-time series before URI won four straight.
 
ALL-TIME VS. NYIT
The Owls hold the all-time series lead against the Bears, 5-0.
Last Meeting: The last time these two clubs squared off was on December 19, 2004, where the Owls earned the win, 83-54.

LAST TIME OUT
Senior Abby Hurlbert broke a career-high in points (24) for the second game straight as the Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team defeated No. 8 nationally ranked Saint Thomas Aquinas on Dec. 19, 73-52. 
• Kiana Steinauer collected her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds. 
• Africa Williams added a season-high 21 points and Murphy Murad had 10 for the Owls. Williams also connected on six three-pointers in the contest.

THE OCEAN STATE CONNECTIONS
Owls' head coach Kate Lynch is a Rumford native and played scholastically at LaSalle Academy. Lynch was a two-time First-Team All-State selection and helped her team win three state championships. In addition, Owls' senior co-captain Chandler Williams is a Chepachet native who played scholastically at Ponaganset High.

A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
The 24-point effort by Abby Hurlbert and 21-point showing from Africa Williams against STAC marked the first time this year that the Owls had two players score at least 20 points in the same game. The last occurrence took place back on Feb. 7 when Murphy Murad tallied 21 points and Maria Weselyj 20 in a game against AIC.

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
Africa Williams knocked down a half-dozen three-pointers in the win over STAC. It marked the first time this year that an Owl made six or more three-pointers in a game. The last time such a feat took place was on Dec. 10, 2016 when Taylor McLaughlin hit seven three-pointers in a win at LeMoyne.

NUMBER ONE
Kiana Steinauer leads the NE10 with an average of 11.7 rebounds per game.

OWLS EIGHTH IN D2SIDA POLL
Southern Connecticut holds the No. 8 position in the most recent D2SIDA Regional poll, as voted on by the region's sports information directors. The Owls entered the poll at No. 9 on Nov. 28 and then moved up a spot the following week before falling back to No. 9 on Dec. 11.

HURLBERT NAMED TO WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Abby Hurlbert was named to the NE10 weekly honor roll for her performance in the Owls win over Felician on Dec. 13. Hurlbert led the Owls offense to a 70-64 win over the Golden Falcons. She shot 53.8% (7-13) from the field and 57.1% (4-7) from the three-point mark. Hurlbert collected the first double-double of her collegiate career with 11 rebounds and a career-high 21 points, while also tying a career-high in steals with four.

STEINAUER KEEPS AT IT
Sophomore Kiana Steinauer has enjoyed a fine start to the 2017-18 season. She was named to the NE10 Conference weekly honor roll and recognized for the fourth time this season by the conference after she averaged 10.5 points per game and 16.0 rebounds per game, while collecting 21 points and 32 rebounds in total in the games against AIC and Pace. She also tallied her fifth double-double of the year against AIC with 19 rebounds and 12 points.

DYNAMIC DUO
The pairing of Kiana Steinauer and Africa Williams has proven to be a force for the Owls early this season. Steinauer is averaging 11.4 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, while Williams has posted averages of 11.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

CAREER-NIGHT FOR PFOHL
Amanda Pfohl came off the bench to post a career-high 12 points in the Owls' contest against AIC on Dec. 5.

LENDING A HAND
Southern currently has six players with at least 13 assists this season, and four with at least 20.  Paige Decker has 28 to lead the Owls.

STEINAUER NAMED NE10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kiana Steinauer averaged 19.0 points per game and 15.5 rebounds per game to earn NE10 Player of the Week honors on Dec. 4.
 
STEINAUER STAYS HOT
Kiana Steinauer broke three records in the Owls' 68-63 victory over Adelphi. She tallied 23 rebounds and broke an SCSU all-time single-game rebounds record set in 2015 by Jackie Beathea (22). Steinauer also broke two career-best records in rebounds (23) and points (23). Her career-high single game rebound total (15) was set on January 28, 2017, while her career-high single game point total (21) came on January 10, 2017. 

OWLS CONTINUE SURGE
While on the road for five games straight, the Owls were able to collect three conference wins and stretched their winning streak to six in a row. 

SURGING STEINAUER
Kiana Steinauer was named to the NE10 honor roll for the second week in a row on Nov. 27. Steinauer collected her third double-double of the year against Dominican on November 26, while tallying 28 points and 20 rebounds last week to earn a place on the honor roll. 

OWLS KEEP ROLLIN'
With a 65-43 win over Dominican on November 26, the Owls earned their fourth straight win to improve to a 4-2 overall.

STEINAUER TO WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Kiana Steinauer was named to the NE10 weekly honor roll for her play in the Owls games the week of November 12. She led the Owls with 29 points and 26 rebounds in two conference victories. 

DOUBLED UP
Sophomore Kiana Steinauer notched her first two double-doubles of the year in a 66-47 win over Saint Rose on Nov. 15 (13 points, 14 rebounds) and a 58-55 win over Le Moyne on Nov. 18 (16 points, 12 rebounds).
 
FIRSTS FOR FRESSLE
Sophomore Jessica Fressle tallied the first double-double of her collegiate career on November 12, where she collected a game-high 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in a 58-41 loss to Bridgeport. 
 
FITTING RIGHT IN
Senior newcomer Africa Williams wasted no time warming up to the NE10 conference after transferring from Wagner College as she led the offense in the season opener against UDC with 16 points on November 11.

NEW ARRIVALS
The Owls welcome two newcomers to the squad for the 2017-18 season - transfer Africa Williams and freshman Miranda Crenshaw.

WELCOME BACK
Southern Connecticut returns 15 players from last year's squad – seniors Murphy Murad, Chandler Williams, Abby Hurlbert, Paige Decker and Chloe Brinton, juniors  Jana Migliaro, Amanda Pfohl, Allie Smith and Erin Ryder and sophomores Imani Wheeler, Kiana Steinauer, Alyssa Irons, Bridget Sharnick, Maddie Brown and Jessica Fressle.

THE CAPTAINS
Southern Connecticut State University head women's basketball coach Kate Lynch has announced that seniors Murphy Murad and Chandler Williams will serve as team captains for the 2017-18 campaign. It's the second straight year that Murad will serve in this role.

OWLS TABBED TO FINISH FOURTH IN NE-10 PRESEASON POLL
The women's basketball team has been selected to finish fourth in the Southwest Division according to the league's coaches.

LOOKING BACK AT LAST SEASON
The Owls are coming off a campaign in which they finished with 12 victories and reached the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

TOUGH COMPETITION AWAITS
The Owls will face four teams in 2017-18 that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago - Adelphi, New York Tech, Bentley and Assumption.

MCLAUGHLIN, WESELYJ EARN NE10 HONORS
Taylor McLaughlin and Maria Weselyj earned Northeast-10 Conference regular season honors for their play in 2016-17. 

EXCELLING IN THE CLASSROOM
Southern Connecticut had 12 student-athletes selected to the Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll for their work in the classroom during the 2016-17 academic year.

FIVE OWLS HONORED BY D2ADA
Paige Decker, Abby Hurlbert, Taylor McLaughlin, Murphy Murad and Bridget Sharnick were all named as 2017 recipients of the Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award for their work in the classroom.

UP NEXT
The Owls will travel to Merrimack on Jan. 3.