Since my last update we have played four Northeast 10 league games.  On February 7th, Southern New Hampshire defeated us as home in a battle that came down to the final seconds.  Layer that week we headed to Umass Lowell, where we got revenge for a loss we faced against them earlier this season.  On Valentine's Day we headed to Southern Connecticute to improve our overall record to 19-5.

Then last night we played Pace University at home in another tight NE-10 contest where, sadly, we came up short.  Now with two regular season games left, the league is tighter than ever. We currently hold the second place seed but need to finish the season strong in order to secure our spot.  This Saturday, we play St. Rose at home in hopes of reaching our 20th win of the season.

       After a week break from our 4 Overtime victory over Bentley, we traveled to New Hampshire last night to take on the Ravens of Franklin Pierce. Going into the game we were both tied for first place, so we knew the battle would be fierce.  We came up a bit short, and dropped our fourth loss of the season 81-71 to the Ravens.  We now have six regular season games left, and know the importance of finishing the season strong.  This Saturday we play Southern New Hampshire at home, for another NE10 battle. 

        In my career as a student athlete here at Stonehill, I have learned to make the best of everything the experience has to offer.  This season has been filled with many ups and downs, and as a team we have climbed many obstacles throughout the year.  With tournament time fast approaching, it is more important than ever to take the experience day by day.  It's important for us to focus on one game at a time, and to not worry about what the future has in store.  With six regular season games left, our team is ready to make the final climb into tournament play.

We Are

StONEhill

**

        On another note... How about them monkeys!?  Last week when I gave my advice to advertisers I didn't realize exactly how talented monkeys can be.  I have received lots of feedback this week on my "monkey advice", and I know that all of you have to admit that when the monkey commercials came on, you couldn't help but laugh.  Click on the links below to see the hidden talent that these little monkeys hold.

Monkey For 3! 

River Dancing Monkeys! 

At the beginning of any season, a team sits down and draws up its goals for the year.  Since the beginning of this season we have talked about the potential we have, and how successful we can be.  This past week, we took our game to a new level, proving to ourselves and our fans that we have a reason to be optimistic about the postseason.

On Saturday we traveled to New Hampshire to take on Merrimack, and came out with our sixteenth win of the season.  But even more exciting was last night's win over Bentley.  Stonehill/ Bentley games never fail to be thrilling, but they usually don't go into four overtimes!  After the fourth overtime we came out ahead, with an 87-82 victory over the Falcons.  The win improved our overall record to 17-3, and secured our first place seeding in the Northeast 10.

With seven regular season games to play, it's important for us to take it one game at a time and finish strong.

**

On another topic, Super Bowl XLIII is this Sunday in Tampa Bay.  Many people will tune into the biggest game in football to see whether the Steelers or the Cardinals are the best team.  As Stonehill is located in New England, many students are pretending the Super Bowl isn't happening this year because the Patriots aren't playing. 

For me... it's all about the commercials anyway.  Will Britney Spears return to the Pepsi ads?  Or this year will she be riding a Clydesdale?  Which beer company will come up with the most outrageous skit?  And what are these one-second ads we've been hearing so much about?  Since Super Bowl ads can cost up to $3 million for a 30-second slot, that means one second runs about $100,000, right?  Money well spent, provided they include some monkeys in it.

That's my advice for all advertisers.  Regardless of whether the product is beer or licorice or shampoo − go ahead and stick some monkeys in there and viewers will be dying for more.  Something about our simian ancestors that just makes me want to go out and shop.

Talk to you soon!

Meg

This past weekend we traveled to St. Rose for another NE10 battle.  Unfortunately the game came down to the final seconds, and we came up a bit short.  We were faced with our third loss of the season, which left us in a three-way tie for first place.  Losing back-to-back games on the road, we headed to Pace on Tuesday night in need of a win.  Pace was part of the three-way tie for first place, making the game even more important.  We defeated the Setters and improved to 15-3 overall.  As the season goes on, each game continues to get more and more important.

On Tuesday history was made, with the inauguration of our first African-American President, Barrack Obama.  There was an unspoken understanding of the importance of the events all throughout Stonehill.  The inauguration was shown on televisions across campus and many professors took the time away from class to make sure students were able to witness history.  As a student athlete, we were on the bus traveling to Pace as President Obama took his oath and gave his address.  Luckily he didn't get it right the first time, so we were able to hear his oath a second time.  All of the events of the day were inspiring for all of us in many different ways.

The new President has gained a great deal of attention throughout the world, and I would like to take a moment to focus on a few of his qualities. 

1. His love of the game.

Obviously he has shown a great interest in basketball, which in my eyes means he can do no wrong.  He is constantly looking for pick-up games, and has talked of replacing the White House bowling alley with his own personal basketball court.

2. He is the "Life of the Party".

Any guy who can attend 10 different inaugural balls is a hero in the eyes of any college student.  He didn't only attend them all, but he danced at them all.  Not to mention that the youth ball proved to be the most exciting.  It's just too bad our team had a game that night and couldn't make it.  Maybe next time!

3. He's a family guy.

It is no secret that his daughters will be in the spotlight for much of their adolescence, which truly is some of the worst years for young girls.  The one thing they have going for them is that their father dressed them in J-Crew on the first night!

This weekend we go on the road again and travel to Merrimack.  I'll keep everyone posted on how we do!  Wish us luck!

Talk to you soon,

Meg

Happy New Year, everyone!

I know it's been awhile since my last entry, but now that we're back in the swing of things with classes I'm ready to get started again.  We finished 2008 with an overall record of 10-1, ending the year with a victory at home against Dominican.  This put us in the middle of winter break, with many games ahead of us.  We traveled to Bentley to improve to 11-1, and then had two back-to-back wins at home against Molloy and St. Anselm.  It was then time to get back on the road, where we traveled to Syracuse, NY, to face Lemoyne College, where we suffered our second loss of the season.

Coming back from Lemoyne it was time for second semester classes to begin.  With winter break being shorter this year, it seemed as though we had just finished finals when we were all starting new classes.  We started this week with a couple of tough practices to prepare ourselves for Wednesday night's game against St. Michael's.  We defeated St. Michael's 67-56 to improve to 14-2, securing the first place spot in our league by one game.

I have to take you back a few weeks when we went on the road to play at Adelphi right before Christmas.  We left campus on December 21, in the middle of Massachusetts' worst snowstorm of the year.  Any story that starts out like this is bound to be memorable, but it wasn't the weather that got in our way.  After a long bus ride, which took much longer than it should have taken, we arrived in Long Island to have dinner at one of Coach Brown's friend's houses. 

Now I have to take a minute to set the scene for everyone.  Coach's friend lives in an enormous apartment building, and unfortunately she lives on the sixth floor.  As the 18 of us stood at the doors of the elevator waiting for them to open, someone had the idea for all of us to get into the same elevator.  When I say all of us, I am referring to all 14 players, our three coaches and our trainer.  We piled into the elevator and the elevator started to go up.  We jumped off the first floor, zipped over the second floor, snuck by the third floor, climbed past the fourth floor, crawled up to the fifth floor, and then ....

We stopped! Unfortunately the elevator filled with 18 people was not able to make it up to the sixth floor, but was instead stuck halfway between the fifth and sixth floors.  At this point the laughter in the elevator suddenly ceased, as one by one we realized we had not made it quite to the destination. 

As coach's friend and her family stood waiting at the elevator on the sixth floor, they realized that the Stonehill Skyhawks weren't going to quite make it to their living room.  About five minutes later, after what seemed like a half hour, we were helped out of the elevator one by one.  We then continued on to have a wonderful dinner, and lots of Christmas fun! 

This past Tuesday we defeated Southern Connecticut to set our record at 8-1 going into final exams.  During finals, we do not play any games, giving us the opportunity to focus on our exams and finish the semester strong.  Instead we have a stretch of 12 practices, which give us the time to make any fixes that our team needs to make.  It can be a bit strenuous at times.

With the holiday season upon us, the Stonehill campus is filled with Christmas spirit.  From the annual tree lighting festivities to the holiday decorations, nothing can top when you walk through the cafe to find a collection of carolers!  In the past I have eaten my lunch and listened to the music, but this year I was inspired to write my own version of a famous Christmas carol.... The Twelve Days of Practice, Stonehill Style.

On the first day of practice, Coach Brown said to us...

            Go sprint the length of the court.

On the second day of practice, Coach Brown said to us ...

            Drop and give me twenty, and go sprint the length of the court.

On the third day of practice, Coach Brown said to us ...

            3 Suicides, drop and give me twenty, and go sprint the length of the court.

On the fourth day of practice, Coach Brown said to us ...

            Today we're doing sit-ups, 3 suicides, drop and give me twenty, and go sprint the length of the court.

On the fifth day of practice, Coach Brown said to us ...

            5....... HUNDRED Squat-thrusts!!!!!

            Today we're doing sit-ups, 3 suicides, drop and give me twenty, and go sprint the length of the court.

On the sixth day of practice, Coach Brown said to us ...

            Defensive slides, 5....... HUNDRED squat-thrusts!!!!!

            Today we're doing sit-ups, 3 suicides, drop and give me twenty, and go sprint the length of the court.

On the seventh day of practice, Coach Brown said to us ...

            Wipe that smile off your face, Defensive slides,

            5....... HUNDRED squat-thrusts!!!!!

            Today we're doing sit-ups, 3 suicides, drop and give me twenty, and go sprint the length of the court.

On the eighth day of practice, Coach Brown said to us ...

            Box out or run, Wipe that smile off your face, Defensive slides, 5....... HUNDRED squat-thrusts!!!!!

            Today we're doing sit-ups, 3 suicides, drop and give me twenty, and go sprint the length of the court.

On the ninth day of practice, Coach Brown said to us ...

            Make all your layups, Box out or run, Wipe that smile off your face, Defensive slides, 5....... HUNDRED squat-thrusts!!!!!

            Today we're doing sit-ups, 3 suicides, drop and give me twenty, and go sprint the length of the court.

On the tenth day of practice, Coach Brown said to us ...

            Ten foul shots, Make all your layups, Box out or run, Wipe that smile off your face, Defensive slides, 5....... HUNDRED squat-thrusts!!!!!

Today we're doing sit-ups, 3 suicides, drop and give me twenty, and go sprint the length of the court.

On the eleventh day of practice, Coach Brown said to us ...

            Be strong with the ball, Ten foul shots, Make all your layups, Box out or run, Wipe that smile off your face, Defensive slides, 5....... HUNDRED squat-thrusts!!!!!

Today we're doing sit-ups, 3 suicides, drop and give me twenty, and go sprint the length of the court.

On the twelfth day of practice, Coach Brown said to us ...

            No more turnovers, Be strong with the ball, Ten foul shots, Make all your layups, Box out or run, Wipe that smile off your face, Defensive slides, 5....... HUNDRED squat-thrusts!!!!!

Today we're doing sit-ups, 3 suicides, drop and give me twenty, and go sprint the length of the court.

It's safe to assume that my carol sounds much worse than it really is.  At the end of these 12 days, Coach Brown, with a twinkle in her eye, will have our team ready to go for the New Year.

Merry Christmas!

Meg

It's been awhile since the holiday, but I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  With the Christmas season upon us, I'm feeling very Dr. Seuss-like lately, so I've decided to take a different approach to the blog this week - I'm going to update everyone through a poem, although without the Grinch and Whos.

The last time I wrote we were going up against Franklin Pierce

Approaching that game we knew the battle would be fierce.

We defeated the Ravens seventy-six to sixty-three

Next up was UMass Lowell, a brawl in which we could foresee.

UMass Lowell came ready to play, and we came up a bit short.

This was our first loss of the season, and we couldn't wait to get back out on the court.

Next we headed to Southern New Hampshire, for another NE10 match

Our intensity, hustle and desire, was something the penmen could not snatch.

On Wednesday night we were at home, and matching up against Merrimack

We found ourselves down at halftime, but were able to fight back.

Our record says a lot, standing at 6-1.

The best part is... our season has just begun!

With exams right around the corner, everyone is feeling the stress.

Between studying, practice, and papers.... I wish we still had a lunch recess.

With winter fast approaching, all around campus you feel the holiday cheer.

It's exciting to know that basketball season is finally in full gear.

This weekend we square off against Assumption, another team sitting at the top.

We're two teams that matchup well, and it will come down to who can get a stop.

Many alumni will be back, to celebrate the 1,000 game in Stonehill history.

We're a team that will be ready, but the outcome is still a mystery.

If we work hard and everyone really tries,

Our coaches' hearts will grow three times their size.

Talk to you soon!

Meg

 This past weekend we held the Skyhawk's Classic, an opening tournament here at Stonehill.  Assumption College, Shepherd University and Bloomfield College were the other three teams in the tournament.  On Saturday we tipped off for the first time this season against Shepherd University.  It being our first game, everyone was nervous and excited to finally get back on the court. We defeated Shepherd on Saturday and Bloomfield on Sunday to finish the weekend 2-0.

This week is one of the busiest weeks of first semester.  As we approach exam time, everyone is scrambling to finish papers and study for last minute tests.  It happens every semester, but each time it seems like the workload gets heavier and heavier.  Being student athletes, this is one of the toughest times academically because it is so important to manage your time wisely.

Last night we took our game on the road, and headed to New Haven for our first NE10 matchup.  It never fails, that bus rides always produce stories a team can tell forever.  For our team this is nothing beyond ordinary!  

In the NE10 every game is a battle, and last night's game was nothing less.  We defeated New Haven 65-54, to improve to 3-0.  Now it is time to prepare for Saturday's game against Franklin Pierce.  Franklin Pierce is the preseason number 1 pick in the NE10, which makes this the biggest game of our season thus far.

Greetings from Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts! My name is Megan Methven and I am a junior on the Stonehill College basketball team.  First, I'd like to jump right in and familiarize readers with the Stonehill campus.

Stonehill is exactly what the name implies - a giant, stone hill, where on top resides a semi-impenetrable castle/fortress/liberal arts education.  Inside the castle are all the faculty in full armor - mathematics and English, history and philosophy, even some priests since we are a Roman Catholic college - all armed with calculators and battle axes and, of course, iPods.  On the first day of school every September, the incoming student body has to storm the castle.  We call this ceremony, "The Storming of the Castle." Aka... Freshman Orientation.  Those of us who get inside are called freshmen and are given the keys to a higher education; those of us who don't make it have to go to places like Harvard and Yale.

Okay, maybe I'm embellishing what the first day of college was like.  Although Stonehill does in fact have a bit of history, and does have a shovel museum in the center of it all (more on this shovel museum in a future post).   

But on to the real purpose of this blog - basketball. 

This year, I am looking forward to sharing with you each step of the journey, and I'm fortunate to have this opportunity to write my own blog!  Stonehill is one of 16 teams who compete in the Northeast 10, one of the strongest leagues in Division II.  We finished the season last year with a 27-5 record, won the Northeast 10 regular season title, and won the Northeast 10 tournament championship. Coming off of such a strong season, the bar is set that much higher, and each one of us is expecting to go further.  The sky is the limit for our team this year, and I cannot wait to see how we put it all together. 

The start of this season has been a bit different than ones in the past.  Last Thursday we played an exhibition game against the University of Connecticut in Gampel Pavilion, the Division I top ranked team in women's basketball.  Growing up I have always watched UConn play on television, but never dreamed of actually playing against them.  Although it can be a bit daunting to play a team with such a great history of winning, we were proud of the way we played and the way we represented our school. This experience was something none of us will ever forget.   

Now we are looking ahead to this upcoming weekend.  This past week we have practiced hard, preparing for our upcoming tournament.  We will be playing Shepherd and Bloomfield, two teams that we do not regularly see during our season.  This is another great opportunity for us before we head into NE10 play. 

I'll be updating this blog every week, to keep all of you informed on how our season is going.  I look forward to sharing the 2008-2009 Skyhawk's season with all of you.

Talk to you soon!

Meg