Manchester, N.H. (January 2) -- Saint Anselm saw its three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday afternoon as the Hawks fell by a 55-44 final to visiting Merrimack in Northeast-10 play at Stoutenburgh Gym.

In the opening 15 minutes, neither team led by more than four points and with 4:49 left in the first half, it was just a 17-16 Merrimack lead after a jumper from Hawks sophomore Megan Howard (St. Paul, Minn.). The Warriors took control late in the period though, forcing five Hawk turnovers and closing on a 13-2 run to take a 30-18 lead into the halftime break.

Six different players scored in the first half for the Hawks, while Gennifer Roy (Granby, Mass.) led the visitors with 11 points in the period.

With the score 32-20 with 17:00 on the clock, the Hawks used eight points by Epiphany Smith (Springdale, Ark.) and a three-pointer from Erin Higgins (Mansfield, Mass.) to cut the lead to 32-31 with 13:34 left. The Warriors responded though and led by eight points just six minutes later. Two free throws by Smith cut the lead down to six with 5:23 left, but the Hawks would get no closer as they saw their three-game winning streak snapped.

Smith led the Hawks with 17 points, while Higgins posted a career-high 11 rebounds. Roy led the Warriors with 18 points, while Casey Miller (Fairbanks, Alaska) chipped in 14.

With the loss, Saint Anselm drops to 4-7 overall and 1-6 in NE-10 play, while Merrimack improves to 4-8 overall and 2-5 in league action. The Hawks hit the road this week on their longest road trip of the season as the team travels to Le Moyne for a 5:30 p.m. start on Wednesday evening in Syracuse.