MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Epiphany Smith (Springdale, Ark.) scored 18 points as the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team recorded a 68-50 victory against Nyack College on Friday evening at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks climb to 7-2 on the season, while the Warriors remain winless at 0-4.
Smith did her damage on 5 of 9 shooting from the floor, including 2 of 5 from deep, and 6 of 6 from the line in just 18 minutes. Smith, who also handed out four assists, has now made 17 straight free throws dating back to Nov. 27. Classmate Megan Howard (St. Paul, Minn.) was the other Hawk in double figures with 12 points on 6 of 8 shooting to go along with four boards in only nine minutes. Most of the starters exited early in the second half as the Hawks were comfortably ahead.
Saint Anselm trailed early, 9-6, before back-to-back Howard layups gave the Hawks a one-point lead at the 16:20 mark of the opening half. Nyack would go back in front, 12-10, but Smith would pour in seven points over the next 49 seconds to give the Hawks a 17-12 advantage with 12:26 remaining.
Nyack answered by scoring six straight to grab an 18-17 edge and still led by one at 23-22 with 8:09 left. The Hawks would answer with an 8-0 run, including a pair of Smith free throws that gave Saint Anselm the lead for good at 24-23 with 7:37 to play. Sophomore Ashley Viselli (Groveland, Mass.) then knocked down consecutive 3-pointers in a span of 46 seconds to make it 30-23 with 6:14 to go.
The Warriors would score five straight to cut it to just a pair with under five minutes to play, but Saint Anselm responded by scoring the final 12 points of the half over the remaining 3:32 to take a 42-28 lead into the break. Smith, junior Curran Leighton (Dover, N.H.) and sophomore Mariah Wynn (Boston, Mass.) each chipped in four points during the stretch.
Howard kicked off the second half with a layup that capped the 14-0 run and made it 44-28 just 1:32 in. The lead was 15 at 51-36 when a 3-pointer from Wynn and a basket from freshman Allie Jones (Wakefield, R.I.) gave the Hawks their largest lead of the night at 56-36 with 9:31 remaining.
Nyack would get as close as 15 with 1:32 remaining, but would not score again as Saint Anselm scored the game's final three points and captured its second straight victory.
Viselli netted a career-high eight points on 3 of 5 shooting, including 2 of 4 from behind the arc, to go along with three assists and a pair of rebounds. Wynn also shot 3 of 5 and chipped in seven points and two rebounds. Leighton tallied four points, five boards, three steals and matched her career best with four helpers, while sophomore Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass.) added six points. Sophomore Meg Morrissey (So. Kingstown, R.I.) recorded a season-high five steals, which was one shy of her career high.
The Hawks outshot the Warriors, 45.6 percent (26-57) to 39.5 percent (15-38). Saint Anselm also held a 28-16 advantage in the paint and turned the ball over 16 times, while forcing 32 Nyack turnovers. The 32 turnovers are the most for a Saint Anselm opponent since the University of the Sciences turned it over 32 times in a 65-64 loss to the Hawks at Stoutenburgh on Nov. 19, 2005.
Ashley Tallman led the Warriors with 25 points.
The Hawks return to action Sunday, Dec. 4 at 5:30 p.m. when they travel across the state to take on Franklin Pierce University. The next home game for the Hawks is not until Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to the College of Saint Rose.
