Manchester, N.H. (December 8) -- Led by 11
three-pointers, the Saint Anselm women's basketball team picked up
its first Northeast-10 victory of the season with a 57-51 win over
Saint Michael's on Tuesday evening. The game featured five ties and
10 lead changes.
Saint Anselm came out firing in the early going, using five
quick points by sophomore Epiphany Smith (Springdale,
Ark.) to help power to an 11-4 advantage 4:13 into the
half. The Hawks traded threes with the Purple Knights before a
second trifecta from senior Erin Higgins (Mansfield,
Mass.) made it a 17-7 game with 13:05 on the clock.
The Saint Michael's defense came alive over
the remainder of the half as the Hawks were held scoreless
over a nearly 10 minute stretch. In that span, the Purple Knights
embarked on a 13-0 run to seize a 20-17 lead before a three-pointer
from Jen Gureckis (Nashua, N.H.) tied the game at
20 with 3:38 on the clock. Two straight jumpers from
Michelle Otey (Southborough, Mass.) and a
layup by Logan Pintka (Schenectady,
N.Y.) with 43 seconds left gave the visitors the
26-26 lead at the break. Higgins led the Hawks with six
points, while Caitlin Quinn (Oakdale,
Conn.) and Otey each had six for Saint
Michael's.
In the second half, the Purple Knights pushed the lead to seven
before the Hawks regained the lead at 33-31 on a Smith three. With
4:55 left in the half, the Hawks held a 47-43 advantage, but that
was shortlived as four quick Purple Knight points off turnovers
tied the game at 47-47. After the visitors retook the lead at 49-47
on a pair of Otey free throws, Gureckis nailed a bank shot
three-pointer as the shot clock expired to make it a 50-49 edge.
Saint Michael's briefly retook the lead on a pair of free throws
by Coreen Hennessy (Chatham, N.H.) before Gureckis
was fouled shooting a three with 1:07 left. After missing the first
attempt, she nailed the next two and combined with a Smith
three-pointer, the Hawks surged to a 55-51 lead with 21.4 seconds
remaining. Two free throws by sophomore Megan Howard (St.
Paul, Minn.) sealed the game for the Hawks, their first
Northeast-10 win of the season.
Smith led the Hawks with 16 points, along with 13 by Gureckis
and and 12 by Higgins. Otey was the lone Purple Knight in double
figures with 12 points.
Saint Anselm improves to 2-6 overall and 1-5 in the
Northeast-10, while Saint Michael's is now 2-5 overall and 1-5 in
league play. The Hawks are now off for 12 days before traveling to
Felician for a non-conference game on December 20th.
