EASTON, Mass - After a ten-day layoff the Bloomfield College women's basketball team fell on the road to Stonehill College, 56-31, Wednesday evening at Merkert Gymnasium. The Skyhawks held the Bears to their lowest point total in three seasons under head coach Dave Caputo.
 
The Bears dropped to 9-4 on the season after the regional non-conference matchup, while the Skyhawks improved to 8-4 as they close out play in 2015.
 
Junior Gabriella Bennett (Willingboro, N.J.) led Bloomfield with 9 points and shot 4-for-6 from the field and 1-for-3 at the line to go along with seven rebounds. Fellow junior Morgan Taylor (Paterson, N.J.) chipped in 5 points (2-8 FG, 1-2 FT) and two assists, while freshman Brianna Carrington (Baltimore, M.D.) also netted 5 points (2-3 FG, 1-2 FT). The surprise of the evening was the Bears leading scorer, Tianna Smith (Spring Valley, N.Y.) being held to just 1 point, going 0-for-6 from the field.
 
Kelly Martin led Stonehill with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
 
Bloomfield was first on the board with a layup from Bennett but the Skyhawks reeled off six straight points that prompted a time out from head coach Caputo. Stonehill followed up with 8 of the next 9 points and the Bears were forced into another timeout, down 14-3 with 3:56 remaining in the first quarter. Both teams did not score a bucket the rest of the period, as the Skyhawks defense held Bloomfield to just one field goal the entire quarter.
 
In the second quarter the visiting team found themselves down 24-8 after a four-point swing, which included a technical foul charged to the Bears head coach. Bennett fueled the Bloomfield offense in the period, scoring six points but her team headed into the locker room down 30-16. Stonehill outrebounded the Bears 29-19 by halftime including 11-4 on the offensive glass.
 
The home squad enjoyed an 18-point advantage (37-19) before the Bears knocked in back-to-back buckets to cut their deficit. The Skyhawks ballooned their lead to 44-23 by quarter's end and held Bloomfield to only seven points in the period.
 
The Bears mustered eight points in the final quarter as they dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.
 
Stonehill outshot Bloomfield, 32.8 percent (20-61) to a season-low 24.1 percent (13-54). The Skyhawks made more free throws (14) than the Bears attempted (11) and controlled the paint (24-20). The battle on the glass went to Stonehill as well (53-35) as they forced Bloomfield into 15 turnovers that converted into 12 points.
 
After the two consecutive losses to Northeast-10 Conference teams, Bloomfield will return to the friendly confines of home on Sunday to face a Central Atlantic Collegiate conference rival in Caldwell University. The Bears first contest in 2016 is scheduled for a 1:00 pm start.
 
The Bloomfield College athletic department would like to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year!
 
 
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