Worcester, Mass. (November 25) - On Sunday afternoon, the Saint Anselm women's basketball team dropped an 82-69 final to Assumption in Northeast-10 Conference action at Laska Gym. The Hawks closed to within seven points midway through the second half before dropping the 13-point final.

With the Hawks leading 15-9 after the opening minutes, the Greyhounds used the outside shooting of Beth Plasski to pull out to a double-digit lead. Saint Anselm sophomore forward Courtney May (Lakeville, Mass.) played a key role in the team's opening spurt as she had six early points to go along with a number of rebounds and a blocked shot. The hosts maintained that double-digit advantage throughout the remainder of the first half and took a 43-28 lead into the break.

In the second half, the Hawks started sophomore forward Carleen Orawsky (Worcester, Mass.) and that move paid immediate dividends as the Worcester native scored nine second-half points and had four rebounds to pull the visitors with seven points midway through the half. The Greyhounds wore down the Hawks though with the inside play of Kayla Parker and Charde Floyd to pull away for the win. In the closing three minutes, the Hawks received an eight-point burst from sophomore forward Reilly O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) as she saw her first action of the season.

Senior Rachel Reilly (Londonderry, N.H.) led the Hawks with 16 points and five assists and was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Erin Higgins (Mansfield, Mass.) with 12 points and seven rebounds. Ten of Higgins' 12 points came in the second half for the Hawks. Assumption was led by a career-high 27-point effort by Parker, while Plasski was outstanding from the field with a 25-point afternoon on 9-for-14 shooting from the field. Floyd led all players with 11 rebounds in 31 minutes of play.

With the loss, the Hawks fall to 0-3 overall and in Northeast-10 play, while Assumption improves to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the Northeast-10. Saint Anselm is back in action on Wednesday, November 28th as the Hawks host Post University in a non-conference game beginning at 6 p.m. in Stoutenburgh Gym.