Syracuse, N.Y. (January 6) -- Led by a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double by sophomore standout Megan Howard (St. Paul, Minn.), the Saint Anselm women's basketball team held off a late-charging Le Moyne team by a 52-49 final on Wednesday evening at Ted Grant Court.

Saint Anselm jumped out to a 12-5 lead with 8:20 left in the first after a layup by Courtney May (Lakeville, Mass.) before the Dolphins rallied for a 15-14 lead with five minutes on the clock. The Hawks trailed by six in the final seconds of the period before senior Erin Higgins (Mansfield, Mass.) nailed a three at the buzzer for a 25-22 Le Moyne lead at the break.

In the second, the Dolphins took control early and with 8:23 left following a three-pointer from Muffy Sadler, Le Moyne led by a 42-36 margin. The Hawks tied the game at 44 behind a pair of free throws by sophomore Epiphany Smith (Springdale, Ark.) and took the lead for good with under two minutes remaining. The Hawks got four free throws from Howard to stretch it to a 48-44 margin, but the Dolphins answered with a three from Emily Bayly with 57 seconds left.

After Torie Lee cut the lead down to two again with 20 seconds left, May hit the second of two free throws to make it a three-point game and Dolphins ball. After a Le Moyne timeout, two three-pointers went wide in the final seconds as the Hawks won for the fourth time in five games. In addition, the win is the first for the Hawks in Syracuse in six years.

Howard posted her third double-double in the last four games, while Smith also finished in double figures with 13 points. Sadler was the lone Dolphin in double figures with 21 points.

Saint Anselm improves to 5-7 overall and 2-6 in the Northeast-10, while Le Moyne is 5-8 and 2-6 in the league. The Hawks return to action on Saturday afternoon, hosting Adelphi for a 1:30 p.m. start at Stoutenburgh Gym.