Manchester, N.H. (January 10) -- The Saint Anselm women's basketball team fell to crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire by a 72-56 final in Northeast-10 Conference play at SNHU Fieldhouse on Thursday evening.

In the first minutes of the opening half, it was Southern New Hampshire who grabbed the quick lead and after 5:47 had pushed the advantage to 10-3 in favor of the Penmen. Cassaundra Thorpe (Portsmouth, N.H.) brought the Hawks back to within four points midway through the period with a pair of layups before SNHU went on a 9-4 spurt for a 25-16 lead with 6:33 remaining. Saint Anselm continued to battle in the half though and after an 8-4 run highlighted by a three-pointer from Jennifer Gureckis (Nashua, N.H.), the visitors were within 29-24. The Penmen kept the lead comfortable though and headed into the break with a 35-27 advantage.

In the second half, the Hawks trailed by as many as 10 points in the early moments before pulling to within six at 48-42 with 11:54 remaining in the game. The Penmen stretched the lead back out to double digits though with four scorers in double figures to come away with the 16-point victory over the Hawks.

Saint Anselm was led by 14 points from Thorpe, along with a 10-point contribution from senior Rachel Reilly (Londonderry, N.H.). The Penmen were paced by 17 points from Stephanie Houghton (Manchester, N.H.) and she was joined in double figures by Heather Marino (Billerica, Mass.) with 11 points and Julia Houghtaling (Franconia, N.H.) and Ashara Carrington (Marblehead, Mass.) each with 10 points.

With the loss, the Hawks fall to 5-10 overall and 2-8 in the Northeast-10, while the Penmen improve to 7-7 overall and 4-6 in the Northeast-10. Saint Anselm is back in action on Saturday afternoon as the Hawks travel to Saint Michael's for a 1:30 p.m. start in Colchester, Vt.