Manchester, N.H. (November 20) -- On Tuesday evening in the Hawks' 2007-2008 home opener, the Saint Anselm women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 79-70 overtime final to Bryant University.

In the first half, the two teams went back and forth with six ties and neither team leading by more than five points. The five-point lead came for Saint Anselm with 5:41 remaining in the opening period as junior guard Justine Lyons (Reading, Mass.) knocked down a jumper as the Hawks held a 29-24 advantage. Bryant battled back to tie the game at 36-36 with seven seconds left in the first half, but Saint Anselm senior Rachel Reilly (Londonderry, N.H.) knocked down a pair of free throws with under a second left for the 38-36 halftime advantage.

In the second half, it was the Hawks again who never trailed and built the edge back to five at 54-49 with 9:42 left on another jumper from Lyons. The Bulldogs chipped away though and with just 16 seconds remaining, Lynne-Ann Kokoski tied up the game for the eighth time. Saint Anselm inbounded the ball with one last chance to win the game in regulation, but the Hawks were unable to get a good look at the basket and the two teams headed into the extra stanza.

In the overtime, Bryant took the lead just eight seconds in and never relinquished it, building to 73-67 with 1:16 left on the clock. A pair of free throws by Erin Higgins (Mansfield, Mass.) and a free throw from Reilly cut the lead to 73-70 with 26 seconds left, but the Bulldogs were six-for-six from the line for the remainder of the game to hold on for the win.

Higgins led all scorers for Saint Anselm with a career-high 20 points and was joined in double figures by Lyons with 15 points and Cassaundra Thorpe (Portsmouth, N.H.) with a 10-point night. Reilly also added a game-high eight assists. Four Bulldogs ended up in double figures, led by Cara Johnson with a 17-point effort on 5-of-10 shooting from the field.

With the loss, Saint Anselm drops to 0-2 overall and in Northeast-10 play, while Bryant improves to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Northeast-10. The Hawks are back in action on Sunday, November 25th when the team travels to Assumption for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff in Worcester, Mass.