Colchester, Vt. (January 20) -- Saint Anselm closed to within two points with 16 seconds left before dropping a 55-52 final to Saint Michael's in Northeast-10 women's basketball action on Tuesday evening.

Saint Anselm held a 13-12 lead early and pushed that to 18-12 midway through the first half after a free throw from junior forward Courtney May (Lakeville, Mass.). The Purple Knights put together a run to tie the game at 24-24 before an 8-4 spurt by the Hawks gave the visitors a 32-28 lead at the half. Six points from Grace Harrington (Salem, Mass.) keyed the late first-half run for the Hawks.

In the second half, Saint Anselm held a 36-34 lead before the hosts answered and took a 43-36 lead with 9:57 left in the period. The Hawks got back within one point with 8:06 left after a layup from Megan Howard (St. Paul, Minn.) and two points in the final seconds before dropping the final to the Purple Knights.

Howard led the Hawks with 12 points and 13 rebounds, her 11th double-double of the season. Haley Poupore (Malone, N.Y.) had 11 points and five rebounds. Justine Lyons (Reading, Mass.) had nine points and four assists. Michelle Otey had 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting, followed by 14 points from Alexis Keller and nine assists from Marilyn Ferreira.

With the loss, the Hawks fall to 3-14 overall and 1-11 in the Northeast, while Saint Michael's is now 10-7 overall and 7-6 in the league. Saint Anselm is back in action on Saturday afternoon as the Hawks travel to American International for a Northeast-10 game in Springfield, Mass.