Manchester, N.H. (November 15) -- Led by a
stingy second-half defense and 20 points from sophomore guard
Epiphany Smith (Springdale, Ark.), the Saint
Anselm women's basketball team shut down visiting Post University
in a 58-35 win on Sunday afternoon. The win was the first at Saint
Anselm for first-year head coach DeAnn Craft. The
35 points allowed by the Hawks is the fourth-lowest single-game
points allowed in Saint Anselm history.
Saint Anselm trailed just once in the game after an early jumper
by Jhenel Franklin (Windsor, Conn.) for the
Eagles. Over the next five minutes, the Hawks went on an 11-0 run
that was capped by a layup by sophomore Megan Howard (St.
Paul, Minn.). Saint Anselm got the lead to double digits
at 21-11 with 8:12 left before a quick 11-2 spurt pulled Post to
within one at 23-22 with 2:25 left in the opening half. The Hawks
held the Eagles to just one basket in the final minutes of the
period though for a 29-24 advantage at the break.
Elizabeth Johnson's jumper with 15:56 left in
the game pulled Post to within one at 32-31, but that was as close
as the overmatched Eagles would get the rest of the way. With
the score sitting at 35-33 with 15:12 on the clock, Saint
Anselm held the Eagles to just zero field goals for the remainder
of the game as Post was 0-17 from the field in the final 15 minutes
with 10 turnovers.
Smith ended the game with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the
field, including four three-pointers. She also added a
game-high five assists in her Saint Anselm debut. Howard finished
with 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Morgan Frame (Waterville, Maine) was the top
freshman for the Hawks, finishing with six points, four rebounds,
one assist, one block and one steal in 15 minutes. In the second
half, the Hawks held the Eagles to just seven points from the
field, limiting them to just 26.1 percent shooting for the period.
Saint Anselm is now 1-0 overall, while the Eagles drop to 0-1 on
the season. The Hawks open the Northeast-10 schedule on Wednesday
night at 5:30 p.m. as the team travels across Manchester to take on
Southern New Hampshire.
