The league’s most dangerous threat from long range went off during the opening week of conference play to earn NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Player of the Week distinction for the third time this season. Hayward, who averages a league-leading 3.3 long range makes per game on 40.0 percent shooting on the season (50-of-125), was virtually unstoppable for Stonehill from behind the arc, burying 70.6 percent of her attempts after combining to go 12-of-17 over a two-game stretch. On the week, the Tasmania native shot 59.3 percent from the floor (16-of-27) to lead all NEC scorers at 22.0 points per contest. A senior guard, Hayward got Stonehill off to a 1-0 start to conference play after she contributed 15 points to the Skyhawks’ 72-54 win over Mercyhurst on Thursday. In that win, she went 6-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point territory. Two days later, Hayward went off for a game- and season-high 29 points behind a sizzling 9-of-12 effort from three to lead the Skyhawks past Saint Francis U by a 73-59 final. She went 5-of-6 and netted 17 of her 23 second-half points in a decisive third quarter that saw Stonehill convert of 7-of-8 shots from long range as a squad. With the win, Stonehill improved to 2-0 in NEC competition for the first time. The nine triples marked the fifth-most made in the nation this season, while the 20-point outing marked her NEC-leading sixth of the year. Averaging a career-high 16.3 points per game, the 5-foot-6 sharp shooter ranks second in the circuit in scoring. Hayward is tied with FDU graduate forward/center Teneisia Brown for the most NEC Player of the Week awards this season (3).