MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomores Meg Morrissey (So. Kingstown, R.I.) and Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass.) scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, as the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team recorded a 52-45 upset win against 20th-ranked Assumption College on Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks snap a three-game losing skid to improve to 10-7 on the season, including 4-7 in Northeast-10 play, while the Greyhounds fall to 11-4, 8-3 NE-10.
Morrissey matched her career high with 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the field and 4 of 5 shooting at the line. She set her previous career best Jan. 25, 2011 against Assumption. Lehr netted her career-best 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting from the floor and 3 of 4 shooting at the stripe, while adding six rebounds and three steals.
Saint Anselm trailed 7-4 early on when a Morrissey layup sparked a 7-0 run that gave the Hawks an 11-7 lead with 14:01 remaining in the opening half. The Hawks still led, 17-15, nearly 10 minutes later when Morrissey sparked another 7-0 stretch, which was capped by a Curran Leighton (Dover, N.H.) 3-pointer, that opened the lead up to 24-15 with 1:43 on the clock. The Greyhounds scored the final two buckets of the half and Saint Anselm went into the break with a 24-19 advantage.
Katy Howard knocked down a 3-pointer for Assumption just nine seconds into the second half to cut the deficit to a pair. With the Hawks on top, 24-27, Leighton followed a pair of Lehr free throws with yet another trey before sophomore Kierra Moore (Albany, N.Y.) followed a Morrissey layup with a 3 that capped a 10-0 run and widened the lead to 37-24 with 11:24 left.
Moore drilled another 3-pointer with 6:14 remaining that gave the Hawks their largest lead of the contest at 45-31, but Assumption crafted an 11-0 run, which was capped by a Howard trey, that sliced the deficit to 45-42 with just over two and a half minutes to go.
Lehr sank a huge jumper in the paint that pushed the lead to five before a pair of Morrissey free throws made it 49-42 with 1:01 left. A Tafanie Roye 3-pointer trimmed the Saint Anselm lead to four with 30 seconds to play, but the Hawks hit three of their four shots at the stripe to seal the win.
Leighton netted nine points on 3 of 4 shooting, including a perfect 3 of 3 from behind the arc, to go along with four boards and a pair of steals. Moore also added nine points on 3 of 4 shooting and was also 3-for-4 from deep, while adding four assists and three steals. Senior Megan Howard (St. Paul, Minn.) chipped in with six points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
Saint Anselm outshot Assumption, 52.9 percent (18-34) to 36.2 percent (17-47), including 63.6 percent (7-11) to 31.8 percent (7-22) from long distance. The Hawks held a 28-23 edge on the glass, as well as a 22-16 advantage in the paint.
Gabrielle Gibson led Assumption with a game-high 13 points.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to Southern Connecticut State University at Stoutenburgh.
