MANCHESTER, N.H. – For the first time since the 1998-99 campaign, the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team will play for a Northeast-10 Conference Championship. The Hawks, seeded second in the Northeast Division, will battle the top-seeded Skyhawks from Stonehill College on Sunday, Mar. 8 at 1 p.m. in Easton, Mass.

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Saint Anselm (21-6, 15-4 NE10), reaching at least 21 victories for the second consecutive season, posted a thrilling 70-59 victory over the nationally-ranked Panthers from Adelphi University in the NE10 Semifinals played on Thursday.

The Hawks will take on Stonehill, the No. 25-ranked team in NCAA Division II. The Skyhawks have won 22 of their 28 games played this season, including 16 of those wins coming against NE10 foes in the regular season. Each team boasts a road victory over the other in 2019-20 heading into Sunday's clash.

Saint Anselm won its only NE10 postseason championship on Mar. 2, 1991, an 81-76 victory over Bentley that extended the Hawks' winning streak to 12 and put them in the NCAA Division II postseason for the second consecutive season. In team history, the Hawks have finished as the league's runner-up on five occasions.

TICKET INFORMATION: Adults will be charged $10 with children (ages 6-18) and senior citizen (65+) tickets gaining entry for $5. Students with a valid ID from an NE10 program will be admitted for $1.

LAST TIME OUT: Saint Anselm secured a 70-59 road victory over the No. 8 program in NCAA Division II, Adelphi University, on Thursday in the NE10 Semifinals. Adelphi (27-3) loses for just the third time in 30 games this season, but does so to Saint Anselm for the second time in 2019-20.

Senior Shannon Ryan (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) led the Saint Anselm offense with 35 points to her credit, reeling in a game-high 19 rebounds for the Hawks. She now has scored a single-season best 621 points to date this year, averaging 23 points for Saint Anselm across 27 games. She has also established a new single-season team record with 406 rebounds in 2019-20.

Junior Peyton Steinman (Pittsfield, Mass.) contributed 18 points, shooting 7-for-14 from the floor, and classmate Grace Guachione (Pittsfield, Mass.) finished with nine points, seven assists, five rebounds, four steals and three blocks (career-high). Steinman exited play with a career-high 100 rebounds this season.

Tied at 50 heading into the fourth quarter, Saint Anselm opened up a 55-50 lead with just under 7:30 to go in regulation time. The Hawks lead at one point by 10 points with 4:35 to go, thanks to a Steinman three-point basket that created a 62-52 lead. Saint Anselm closed the contest on an 8-2 scoring run, keeping the dangerous Panthers offense at bay in the game's waning minutes

SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM

• The top rebounding team in the Northeast-10 for the second consecutive season, the Hawks enter the 2019-20 postseason as the reigning NCAA Division II East Region Champions after toppling three-consecutive higher-seeded teams in last year's regionals, including Stonehill.
• In the most recent NCAA Division II East Region rankings released on Wednesday, Saint Anselm moved up one spot to assume the No. 4 position, thanks to back-to-back victories against strong Bentley and New Haven sides. Against in-region foes this year, the Hawks have logged a convincing 21-4 overall record, including Thursday's win over Adelphi.
• The Hawks lead the conference in several rebounding categories, including rebounds per game (44.3), rebound margin (10.2), and defensive rebounds per game (30.7). Saint Anselm also averages 4.5 blocked shots per game, the top squad in the NE10.
• Offensively, Saint Anselm averages 73.6 points per game, ranking second in the league. The Hawks rank second in assists per game (16.3), blocked shots (121), field goal percentage (43.8%), free throws made (356), rebounds (1,196) and scoring margin (11.8).
• The Hawks ranked as high as fourth in all of NCAA Division II in December, according to the D2SIDA National Media Poll. At the same time, Saint Anselm ranked sixth in the country, according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association rankings. The Hawks have since fallen out of the national top-25 in both polls.
• Saint Anselm has earned three U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week awards this season as Ryan picked up two of those three accolades. Steinman was recognized on the week ending Dec. 22.
• The Hawks have earned 11 weekly awards from the NE10. Ryan has secured six NE10 Player of the Week awards in 2019-20 with Steinman picking up those honors twice. Freshman Macy Spinks (Luton, England) has drawn Rookie of the Week accolades on three occasions.
• The Hawks are averaging 73.6 points per game through 27 games, the fifth-most in a single season in team history. Saint Anselm has not posted north of 70 points per game in a season since the 1994-95 campaign (76.9).
• At the free throw line, Saint Anselm has buried 77.1% of its shots, the highest mark in team history. The Hawks are shooting 43.8% from the floor to date, the seventh-best figure in team annals.
• Ryan, who recently became the program's all-time leading scorer, has averaged 23.0 points and exactly 15 rebounds per game across 27 contests as a senior. She leads all of NCAA Division II in defensive rebounds per game (11.1) while ranking second with 25 double-doubles. She is third nationally in rebounds (406) and rebounds per game (15.0).
• Across just 92 games between Boston College and Saint Anselm, Ryan is the program's all-time career scorer, breaking the record during the regular season against Saint Michael's while finishing the day with 1,668 points. She eclipsed the previous team record of 1,652 points in 105 games set by Rachel Jackson '85 from 1981-85. Ryan currently boasts 1,747 career points and 1,112 career rebounds.
• Ryan set the single-season scoring record against Adelphi on Thursday, reaching 621 career points in just 27 games. The previous single-season record of 618 points, set by Kristen Skoglund '96, was achieved in 27 games in 1995-96. Skoglund's single-season mark of 22.9 points per contest currently stands as the all-time record; Ryan currently is at 23.0 points per contest this season with her season still in progress.
• Ryan set the single-season rebound record, doing so against New Haven on Sunday in the NE10 Quarterfinals – she posted an all-time mark of 385 rebounds last season, breaking the previous record of 344 caroms by Andrea Sunday '95 in 1994-95. With 406 caroms to her credit this year, she ranks second all-time in team history (1,108 at Saint Anselm) behind Jackson and her four-season total of 1,185.
• Among active NCAA Division II student-athletes, Ryan ranks first in career rebounding average (12.1) and double-doubles (63). Her 1,112 career rebounds is second among active student-athletes and her 19.0 career points per game is the sixth-best figure in the country. She is one of only 14 active student-athletes with 1,500 career points and at least 800 career rebounds.
• Steinman, the league's leader in free throws made (137) and free throws attempted (171), is averaging 19.7 points per game to rank second in the league. Her 7.9 rebounds per game is also the eighth-best figure as her all-around strong season has also produced the league's sixth-best free throw percentage (80.1).
• Her 137 free throws is the third-most in a single season by a Hawks student-athlete. Skoglund set the program's all-time, single-season record with 148 in 1995-96.
• Steinman is 26th among NCAA Division II student-athletes with 19.7 points per game and her 83.6% free throw percentage ranks her fourth all-time in Saint Anselm history. Her 13.5 career points per game is the team's eighth-best figure since the squad's inception in the mid-1970's.
• Guachione is averaging exactly two steals per game, leading Saint Anselm and posting the fourth-best average in the NE10. She is also dishing out 3.5 helpers per tilt, ranking eighth in the league in assists per game and 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.29). She is averaging a career-high 8.9 points per game, having started all 27 games to date.
• Spinks ranks seventh in the NE10 with a 1.49 assist-to-turnover ratio and her 85 assists on the year is good for 14th in the league. She is averaging 6.1 points per game in 27 contests played as a freshman, pouring home 25 three-point baskets and making all but one of her 12 free throws to date.
• Senior Sara Messler (Durham, N.H.) is pulling down 5.9 rebounds per game as a senior, a career-high figure, and her 51 assists is a personal best mark in a single season. She is scoring 7.4 points per game in her fourth and final season on the Hilltop.
• Junior Jenoyce Laniyan (Bedford, N.H.) has made a career-high 27 appearances for Saint Anselm, coming off the bench and shooting north of 44% from the field. Against New Haven in the NE10 Quarterfinals, she was responsible for a career-high 12 points and two blocks off the bench.

SCOUTING STONEHILL

• Stonehill has won 11 consecutive games entering the league's title game. The NE10 Northeast Division regular season champions have eclipsed 20 wins for the third consecutive season.
• The Skyhawks rank fifth in NCAA Division II, committing just 365 fouls on the season. The team averages just 13.5 personal fouls per game, the seventh-fewest in the nation, and the squad's 25.6% three-point field goal defense is the ninth-finest figure in the division.
• On the national statistics registry for NCAA Division II, Stonehill does not have a single student-athlete ranked in the top-50 across any offensive or defensive statistic. However, three student-athletes average at least 10 points per game and seven total members of the roster average at least five points per contest.
• Stonehill has scooped up at least 35 rebounds in each of the last 16 games, helping the team to victory with its glass work. In the last three games, the Skyhawks have shot no greater than 39% from the floor and have posted just 14 three-point makes across their last 57 attempts (24.6%).
• Sophomore Kayla Raymond earned First Team All-Conference honors after the season. A two-time NE10 All-Conference pick, Raymond is averaging a team-best 16.6 points per contest, ranking fourth in the conference despite missing the first eight contests of the year. She posted 30 points against the Hawks in her squad's 66-63 win over Saint Anselm on Feb. 8.
• Senior Gabrielle Reuter, a Third Team All-NE10 selection, is producing 10 points per game, shooting 46.2% from the floor, and adding just a touch over six rebounds per game. Reuter has been limited to just 10 points against Saint Anselm on the season, scoring six in her first game against Saint Anselm and four in the most recent contest.
• Sophomore Isabella Santoro posted 14 points and 11 rebounds for Stonehill on Dec. 7 in her team's 76-63 loss. Juniors Madison Seymour and Jennifer Worden each cashed in for 10 points in the Feb. 8 meeting with Saint Anselm in Manchester.

NE10 POSTSEASON ALL-TIME

• Stonehill and Saint Anselm will meet up in the NE10 title game for the third time on Sunday. Stonehill owns a 2-0 record against the Hawks in such meetings, winning its first title in 1982-83 by a 58-54 margin and logging an 82-69 win over the Hawks in the 1994-95 postseason.
• Saint Anselm won its first and only NE10 tournament title in 1990-91, defeating nationally-ranked Bentley by an 81-76 margin. The Hawks have finished as the tournament's runner-up on five occasions, most recently in 1998-99.
• Stonehill has posted seven victories over the Hawks in NE10 postseason play; the Hawks have two such wins, claiming those victories in 1986 and 1989. The teams have not faced off since the 1997 NE10 Semifinals, a 67-64 win for the Skyhawks.
• The Hawks are 29-29 in the NE10 postseason and have won two consecutive postseason games for the first time since the 1998-99 playoffs.

HEAD COACHES

• Saint Anselm head coach Corey Boilard has registered a 60-28 (.681) record since joining the Hawks prior to the 2017-18 season. After a 17-win campaign in his first season, the Hawks went on to post a 22-10 record last year, winning the program's first-ever East Region Championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
• Boilard owns a 144-81 (.640) overall record between his time with the Hawks and NCAA Division III Johnson & Wales (R.I.). With the Wildcats, Boilard's teams went 62-22 (.738) overall in his last three seasons, making two NCAA Tournament appearances overall.
• Trisha Brown, a five-time Coach of the Year selection by the NE10, has guided Stonehill to its 27th season of at least 20 victories in program history. Across 19 seasons with the Skyhawks, the 1987 graduate of Harvard University owns a 386-176 record (.687). Her Stonehill teams have finished under .500 just twice (13-14, 2011-12; 12-14, 2016-17).

ALL-TIME vs. STONEHILL

• The Skyhawks control the all-time series lead, having won 64 of the 91 meetings since the first game on Feb. 5, 1979. When playing at Merkert Gymnasium, Saint Anselm has won just seven times, three of those occasions coming since the 2013-14 season.
• Saint Anselm knocked off Stonehill in last season's East Region semifinals contest on the campus of the University of the Sciences. The seventh-seeded Hawks recorded a 59-50 victory over the sixth-seeded Skyhawks on Mar. 16, the team's first win over Stonehill in NCAA postseason play.