Manchester, N.H. (November 28) -- The Saint Anselm women's basketball team took the lead early in the first half and never looked back as the Hawks defeated Post University by a 73-58 final for their first win of the season. The win is also the first career victory for Saint Anselm first-year head coach Chris Leazier.

The Hawks came out shooting well and jumped out to an early 20-10 lead with 8:37 left in the first half as Courtney Macaruso (Rutland, Mass.) knocked down a jumper in the lane. Following a three-pointer by junior guard Justine Lyons (Reading, Mass.) with 2:38 remaining in the opening period, the Hawks had their largest lead of the half and were in control. Post University rallied back though with an 8-0 spurt to close the lead to within 33-20 at the break. The Hawks played outstanding defense in the first half as they held the Eagles to just two points over an eight-minute stretch at one point in the period.

In the second half, the Saint Anselm lead never dipped below eight points and the Hawks stretched the advantage to as many as 19 at 57-38 with 8:02 left. Saint Anselm knocked down 7-of-12 from behind the three-point arc in the second half, along with 7-of-8 from the charity stripe, to pick up its first victory of the young season.

Saint Anselm was led in scoring by senior Rachel Reilly (Londonderry, N.H.), who finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists. She was joined in double figures by Lyons, who nearly picked up the double-double with a 10-point, nine-rebound showing. Four Eagles ended the game in double figures, led by 13 points each from Mallorie Michalk and LaToya Coley.

With the win, Saint Anselm improves to 1-3 overall, while Post University remains winless at 0-3. The Hawks are back in action on Saturday afternoon when the team hosts Le Moyne for a Northeast-10 game beginning at 1:30 p.m. at Stoutenburgh Gym.