Easton, Mass. (February 17) -- Led by a 12-point effort from senior standout Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass.), Stonehill defeated Saint Anselm by a 47-34 final on Wednesday night in Northeast-10 Conference action at Merkert Gym.

In the first half, the Hawks jumped on top early on a three-pointer from Erin Higgins (Mansfield, Mass.) before a 9-0 Stonehill run gave the hosts a six-point lead with 15:20 left in the opening half. Four quick points from Epiphany Smith (Springdale, Ark.) and a pair of Courtney May (Lakeville, Mass.) free throws tied things up at nine just three minutes later. Stonehill closed the half on a 16-6 run though, led by seven points from Erin Gray (Clifton Park, N.Y.) in the run, to take a 25-15 lead into the halftime break. Gray finished with seven, along with eight points from Simonds. Saint Anselm was led by an eight-point, four-rebound half from Smith.

In the second half, Stonehill pushed the lead to as many as 18 points midway through the period. Behind nine second-half points from Megan Howard (St. Paul, Minn.) and seven more from Smith, the Hawks closed to within 11 points with 1:14 remaining before falling 47-34.

Smith led all scorers with 15 points for Saint Anselm, while Simonds led the Skyhawks with a 12-point showing. Stonehill is ranked fifth in the latest NCAA East Region Poll, released earlier on Wednesday afternoon.

With the loss, Saint Anselm falls to 9-16 overall and 6-14 in the Northeast-10. Stonehill improves to 19-8 overall and 14-6 in league action. Saint Anselm is back in action on Saturday, February 20 as the Hawk host UMass Lowell on Senior Day. Prior to the game, the Hawks will honor four seniors (Kate Connolly, Grace Harrington, Erin Higgins and Courtney May) who will be playing in their final home game of their career.