Manchester, N.H. (January 16) -- After leading by 16 points in the first half, the Saint Anselm women's basketball team couldn't hold off a furious Bentley rally as the Hawks dropped a 69-58 final to the Falcons on Wednesday night at Stoutenburgh Gym.

After Bentley briefly took the lead at 5-3 just 15:32 into the game, the Hawks tied it up on a jumper by Meredith Amyot (Ashford, Conn.) just 19 seconds later. From that point, the Hawks embarked on a 16-0 run over the next 6:08, capped by a pair of free throws from Justine Lyons (Reading, Mass.) to seize it's biggest lead of the half at 21-5 with 9:05 left in the period. Saint Anselm maintained that double-digit cushion and with 6:15 left in the period still led by a 30-16 margin. Bentley clamped down on defense though by forcing five Saint Anselm turnovers and closed the half on a 9-0 run to head into the halftime break at 30-25 in favor of the Hawks. Saint Anselm shot 50 percent from the field in the opening half, while holding the Falcons to 31 percent after starting the game 2-for-17 shooting. Kristy McLean (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the Falcons with eight first-half points, while Cassaundra Thorpe (Portsmouth, N.H.) had eight for the Hawks.

The second half began as a back-and-forth affair before Bentley pulled within two at 36-34 with 14:43 remaining on a basket by senior forward Erica Kirwan (North Kingstown, R.I.), forcing Saint Anselm to call a full timeout. Bentley pushed the lead to as many as five at 45-40 with just under 11 minutes to go before the Hawks answered with a three-pointer from senior Rachel Reilly (Londonderry, N.H.) and close to within 45-43. Saint Anselm quickly regained the lead after a Lyons three-pointer and pushed the advantage to three at 48-45 with 8:20 left in the half following a pair of free throws from Courtney May (Lakeville, Mass.). The two teams traded the lead three times over the next five minutes and Bentley held a slight 55-54 lead with just 3:36 remaining as Bentley called a timeout with possession in the front court. From that point the Falcons closed the game on a 14-4 run to pull out the victory, Bentley's seventh straight win and ninth straight in the all-time series with Saint Anselm. 

The Hawks were led by 16 points from Reilly, while Thorpe and Lyons finished with 12 and 11 points each, respectively. Bentley was led by 16 points from Kim Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y.) as she was joined in double figures by McLean with 15 and Kirwan with 12 points.

With the loss, the Hawks fall to 5-12 overall and 2-10 in the Northeast-10, while the Falcons now sit at 11-4 overall and 8-3 in the league. Saint Anselm is back in action on Saturday afternoon when the team travels to Springfield, Mass., for a 1:30 p.m. meeting with American International.