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The Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team has earned an at-large bid into the 2018 NCAA Division II Tournament. The Owls are the No. 8 seed for this week's action, which will kick off on Friday at 5 p.m. against the host school and top seed, Stonehill. This is the seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.

ALL-TIME VS. STONEHILL
The Skyhawks lead the all-time series with the Owls, 15-12.
Last Meeting: Kiana Steinauer tallied her eighth double-double of the year (13 points, 13 rebounds) in the Owls 63-52 loss to the Skyhawks.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Three Owls were in double figures in points - Africa Williams (15), Paige Decker (10) and Kiana Steinauer (10) - in Southern's 64-51 loss to No. 14 nationally ranked Bentley in the NE10 semifinals on March 1.
• The game was a close affair early on, but Bentley stretched its lead to 12 points at halftime, 32-20.
• SCSU closed the gap to as few as three points in the third quarter, but the Falcons went on to pull back away for the double-digit win.
• Decker tied a career-high in rebounds with eight.

ALL-TIME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Southern Connecticut is 13-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has won at least one game in the tournament in each of its previous six appearances.
 
DÉJÀ VU
Head coach Kate Lynch and assistant coach Stephanie Hiriak made history in 2007 when they led the Owls to the Division II National Championship as players. Now, as coaches, they will look to guide the 2018 Owls through the same journey when they square off against Stonehill on Friday night in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

STEINAUER CLEANS THE GLASS
Kiana Steinauer enters the NCAA Tournament having currently posted the fourth-highest single-season total in school history with 318 rebounds. She's just five behind Jackie Beathea's 323 boards in 2014-15 and 10 behind Babette Noah's 328 rebounds in 2006-07. Beathea holds the single-season mark with 388 in 2015-16.

CLOSE TO SOME ELITE COMPANY
Kiana Steinauer needs just 12 rebounds to become the 18th player in SCSU history to tally 500 career boards.

TWENTY IS A GOOD NUMBER
The 2017-18 season marks the 11th time in program history that the Owls have won at least 20 games in a season.

HURLBERT, STEINAUER EARN YEAR-END HONORS
Senior Abby Hurlbert and sophomore Kiana Steinauer earned post-season honors from the NE10 for their performances during the regular season. Hurlbert was name First-Team All Conference, while Steinauer earned honorable mention laurels.
 
HOLY GAIL
Senior Abby Hurlbert erupted in the Owls' 75-64 win over Southern New Hampshire University in the NE10 Quarterfinals. She set a new career-high in points with 38 and had the second-highest single-game total in program history, trailing only Cathy Inglese (40 against UMass on 2/20/80). Ironically, her coach, Kate Lynch, also scored 38 in a game against Saint Rose back in 2008.

QUEENS OF THE SOUTHWEST
The Owls captured the Southwest Division title with their 53-50 victory over Pace on Feb. 17.

DID YOU KNOW?
The Owls posted their second-best single-game three-point shooting effort earlier this year in the win over Assumption. SCSU hit on 10-of-17 three-pointers (58.8), which trails only the 59.1 mark in the Feb. 11, 2017 game against Saint Rose.
 
HURLBERT, STEINAUER EARN WEEKLY HONORS
Senior Abby Hurlbert and sophomore Kiana Steinauer were named to the NE10 weekly honor roll on Feb. 19. Hurlbert averaged 12.0 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game and 2.5 steals per game. Steinauer averaged 10.5 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game while shooting 45% from the field and 75% from the free throw line and tallied her 12^th double-double of the season (15 points, 14 rebounds).
 
DOUBLE-DIGIT DOUBLE DOUBLES
Kiana Steinauer tallied her 10^th and 11^th double-doubles of the season in the Owls 60-59 win over Saint Rose on Feb. 3 and in their loss to American International College on Feb. 6.
 
PICKING POCKETS
Murphy Murad broke a career-high in steals with five in their win over New Haven. She then tied that career-high the next game in the Owls win at Saint Rose. Kiana Steinauer also tied her career-high in steals with five in the very same game.
 
STEINAUER, HURLBERT TABBED TO NE10 WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Abby Hurlbert and Kiana Steinauer played instrumental roles in the Owls two conference victories during the week of Feb. 3. Hurlbert shot 45.5% from the field, 50% from beyond the arc while averaging 2.0 spg. Steinauer averaged a double-double with 12.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg. She shot 40% from the field, 66.7% from beyond arc and averaged 3.0 spg. She collected her tenth double-double of the year in the Owls' 60-59 win over Saint Rose, while chipping in 13 points, 14 rebounds and tying her career-high in steals with five.
 
HURLBERT GARNERS PLAYER OF WEEK HONORS
Abby Hurlbert hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer in overtime to help the Owls defeat Saint Michael's College on Jan. 27, while recording 20 points in the win. She averaged 25.0 points per game with a 57.1 shooting percentage, including a 46.7 percent showing from beyond the arc. Hurlbert tallied a career-high 30 points in a 75-68 win over Assumption.
 
THIRTY REASONS WHY IT WAS A GOOD NIGHT
In posting a 30-point effort against Assumption, Abby Hurlbert became the first Owl since Taylor McLaughlin in November 2016 to score at least 30 points in a game. In fact, Hurlbert and McLaughlin are the only two Owls to post 30-point games since February, 2012.
 
STEINAUER TO NE10 WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Kiana Steinauer averaged a double-double with 14.0 ppg and 10.5 rpg, while collecting her ninth double-double of the year in their overtime win over Saint Mike's. She had 28 points, 21 rebounds (5 orb, 16 drb) and was perfect at the free throw line (10-10).
 
WHEELIN' AND DEALIN'
Imani Wheeler is tied for sixth place in the NE10 in steals and first on the Owls with 49. She had a team-high four steals and team-high five assists in the Owls' OT win over Saint Mike's on Jan. 27.
 
RECORD BREAKING
Senior Abby Hurlbert broke a career-high in points with 30 in the 75-68 win over Assumption on Jan. 23. This is the third time this season that Hurlbert has broken her career-high in points. She previously snapped it in back-to-back games on Dec. 13, 2017 (21 points) against Felician and again on Dec. 19, 2017 (24 points) against then-No. 8 nationally-ranked STAC.
 
AMONG NCAA LEADERS
Coming into the NCAA Tournament, Kiana Steinauer is 11th in Division II in rebounds this season with 318 and tied for 15^th in rebounds per game with 10.6.
 
TERRIFIC TANDEM
The tandem of senior Abby Hurlbert and sophomore Kiana Steinauer has fared well for the Owls. Hurlbert currently averages 13.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 1.8 spg, while Steinauer averages 10.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg and 1.4 spg.
 
HURLBERT NAMED TO NE10 HONOR ROLL 
Senior Abby Hurlbert led the Owls in points for the week of Jan 15. She averaged 16.5 points per game and shot 100 percent from the free throw line going 7-for-7 in the two games. Collecting 33 points in total, she had a team-high 17 points against Saint Anselm and a team-best 16 points against Stonehill.
 
OWLS NAMED NE10 TEAM OF THE MONTH
Following a 6-1 month that included two league wins, three additional key regional victories and a triumph over Division I Rhode Island, SCSU has been named as the NE10 Team of the Month for December. This is the first time that the program has earned this award since its creation.
 
 A FINE END TO THE MONTH OF DECEMBER
• The Owls defeated No 8 nationally ranked STAC, Division I squad Rhode Island and NYIT during the final 12 days of December to cap off a great first half of the season.
• Abby Hurlbert broke a career-high in points (24) for the second straight game in the win over STAC.
• Kiana Steinauer collected her sixth (10 points, 14 rebounds) and seventh (11 points and 10 rebounds) double-doubles of the season against STAC and NYIT, respectively.
• Imani Wheeler broke her career-high in steals with five during the win over NYIT.
 
HURLBERT GARNERS NE10 WEEKLY HONORS
Senior Abby Hurlbert was named to the NE10 Conference honor roll on Jan. 2 after leading the Owls in points during the Owls last three matches of 2017. She collected a career-high 24 points in win over No. 8 STAC, 13 points in win over Division I squad Rhode Island and 12 points in win over NYIT.
 
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. Hurlbert (30 points) and Williams (20 points) also accomplished the feat later on this season in the win over Assumption.
 
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 Le Moyne.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
Kiana Steinauer is second in the NE10 with an average of 10.6 rebounds per game. 
 
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.

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 30 assists this season, and four with at least 50. Murphy Murad has 79 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
A win over Stonehill will send the Owls into the regional semifinals on Saturday, while a loss will conclude the 2017-18 season.