Manchester, N.H. (February 20) -- Led by a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double by sophomore Megan Howard (St. Paul, Minn.), Saint Anselm held off UMass Lowell for a 58-54 win on Senior Day at Stoutenburgh Gym on Saturday afternoon.

Prior to the start of the game, the Saint Anselm women's basketball program honored seniors Kate Connolly, Grace Harrington, Erin Higgins, Courtney May and student assistant Courtney Macaruso as part of Senior Day.

Saint Anselm opened up a quick 7-2 lead less than five minutes in before a 9-2 Lowell run gave the visitors their first lead of the game at 11-9 with 8:13 left. Led by 10 first-half points from Howard, Saint Anselm built the lead back up to four before taking a 22-19 lead into the halftime break.

Epiphany Smith (Springdale, Ark.) capped off a 7-0 run to open the second half as the Hawks took a double-digit lead at 29-19 with 16:42 remaining. UMass Lowell answered back though with a 13-2 run of its own as the River Hawks took a 32-31 advantage with 13:13 left. Brianna Calver (Shelby, Ohio) nailed a three to make it a 43-37 River Hawk lead before the Hawks set up for the game-deciding run over the remainder of the half. Saint Anselm put up a 17-5 spurt, capped by two free throws by Smith, to make it a 54-48 game in favor of the Hawks. The two teams traded baskets down the stretch as Saint Anselm came away with the win.

In addition to Howard's double-double, Smith finished with 19 points, four assists and three steals. Amanda McGrew (Santa Monica, Calif.) led Lowell with 15 points, along with 11 from Sha'Nay Bushner (Akron, Ohio).

With the win, Saint Anselm improves to 10-16 overall and 7-14 in Northeast-10 play, while UMass Lowell falls to 16-9 overall and 12-9 in the league. Saint Anselm wraps up the 2009-2010 season on Wednesday night as the Hawks travel to Saint Michael's for a 5:30 p.m. start in Colchester, Vt.