Skyhawks soar over winter break

By Annie Renz

While Stonehill students returned home for a few weeks over winter break, a number of athletes were busy competing to begin the new year.  

Stonehill basketball began conference play on January 2. Both teams traded back and forth on the wins and losses column, with the women going 2-4 before classes started.  

The men’s team topped off Martin Luther King weekend with a win over Saint Francis, putting them at a 3-3 record before the semester began.  

Women’s basketball are continuing to find their footing this season, but consistent individual performances are showing positive signs.  

Junior Captain Brooke Paquette lived up to her Preseason All-NEC recognition. She has been named to the NEC Prime Performer list eight times this season and received the recognition for seven straight weeks.  

On January 8, Paquette surpassed 800 career points and since students returned for the Spring semester, she reached 900 points.  

The Hudson, New Hampshire native can shoot from anywhere on the court, but what’s pushed her past each scoring benchmark are her three-pointers. One of her biggest moments over the break was hitting her 100^th career three-pointer on January 24.  

“I had no idea that I was even close to that many career threes,” she said. “It’s always a good feeling when I see my shots go in, and my teammates never fail to celebrate me when I score.” 

The women’s basketball team headed south over break– first down to Florida to face off against Bethune-Cookman and Stetson.  

After returning home with one win and one loss just in time for the holidays, the team took off again to Nashville to face No. 11 Vanderbilt.  

“Team trips to fun places like Florida and Nashville are always exciting, especially off the court,” said Paquette. “Playing in a tournament with back-to-back games was a new challenge for us that we persisted through.” 

Stonehill’s ice hockey teams also competed over the break. On the men’s side, a successful 2-0 trip to Anchorage, Alaska on December 5 and 6 would be the only games the team would face until the new year.  

It was a shaky January for the men’s team, going 2-6-1. The team captured a defining 6-2 victory over Saint Lawrence. Graduate student Evan Orr gave the Skyhawks its other win of the month against Brown when he scored his fourth overtime winner over the past two seasons.  

On the women’s side, the team played its only two-game weekend series of December at Saint Michaels. The games’ identical winning results of 6-0 demonstrate collective team contributions. 

Eight different Skyhawks scored, with a handful adding a few assists to the weekend resume. The sweep showed many great individual performances, but two Skyhawks were honored by the New England Women’s Hockey Alliance.  

Senior forward Gracie Sacca earned Player of the Month recognition for December for her six-assist weekend performance while sophomore Seina Spadone earned Defender of the Month recognition.  

“I think it’s huge, the fact that we got [the recognition] at the same time,” said Sacca. “When I see a teammate get recognized, I’m super happy for them.” 

Sacca said she heard of the honor from a teammate who was scrolling on Instagram. While an email is sent to players, she hadn’t checked her inbox before the news broke on social media.  

“I think this sets the tone for the rest of the season. For other teams to see our program get two awards, it’ll show them that we are legit,” she said.  

While it was a busy January for the players, Sacca said the team did get two weeks off to reset for the back half of the season.  

“Being here and not having classes and just focusing on hockey, that’s living the dream,” she said. “We focused solely on hockey and getting to play with each other again.” 

As of January 30, the Skyhawks lie in third place in the NEWHA at 12-6-2 and are neck-and-neck with Saint Anselm for points. Sacca said her team needs to continue to get goals and stick to their game plan as they near playoffs.  

The women’s swim and dive team competed in five meets in January, with their dominant 106-41 win over Brandeis highlighting the month. At the meet, two Skyhawks broke three program records.  

Junior Grace Idowu put her name in the record books for the butterfly and the 50 freestyle with times of 26.35 and 24.04, respectively.  

Senior Kristy Barry beat her own school record for the 100 Individual Medley that she set on September 28 with a time of 1:00.85. She reclaimed the title on January 14 with a 59.56 time.