MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) led all scorers with 13 points and nine rebounds to lead the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team to a 55-40 win against Nyack College on Saturday evening in the final game of the Saint Anselm Tip-Off Classic at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks begin the season 2-0 for the third straight year, while the Warriors drop to 0-2.
Jones also added two assists and a pair of steals. Sophomore Allie Jones (Wakefield, R.I.) recorded eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while juniors Meg Morrissey (South Kingstown, R.I.) and Ashley Viselli (Groveland, Mass.) each posted eight points and four rebounds, respectively. Morrissey also handed out four assists.
The Hawks led 6-2 after a Viselli layup with 14:00 remaining in the opening half before Ashleigh Jones drained a 3-pointer that cut it to one. Senior Curran Leighton (Dover, N.H.) answered with a trey of her own and the Hawks led 9-5 with 12:10 on the clock.
After the Warriors cut it to just a pair with an Aika Emmanuel layup 36 seconds later, an Allie Jones layup, followed by a pair of Briana Jones baskets, ran the Hawks' lead to 15-7 with 8:34 left in the half.
A jumper and a 3 from Ashleigh Jones trimmed the Saint Anselm lead to three at the 6:13 mark, but the Hawks responded with a 9-0 run, which featured three points each from Briana Jones and classmate Kierra Moore (Albany, N.Y.), to grab hold of a 24-12 lead with just 1:43 left before the break. Jamie McKeither knocked down a jumper with five seconds on the clock to send Nyack into the locker room, trailing 24-14.
After the two teams traded baskets to kick off the second half, a layup by Allie Jones and a 3 from Viselli opened the lead up to 15 at 31-16 for the Hawks. The lead was 14 when Moore drained a 3-pointer to give Saint Anselm its largest lead of the evening at 40-23 with 13:52 remaining in the second half.
The two teams traded baskets before an 8-0 Nyack run sliced its deficit to 42-33 with 8:47 to go. The Warriors chipped a point off later at 45-37 when a 3-pointer from freshman Alexius Hampton (Charlotte, N.C.) and a Briana Jones jumper widened the gap to 50-37 for the Hawks with 5:42 left. Freshman Ashlin Gross (Las Vegas, Nev.) added a layup with 15 seconds on the clock to close the scoring.
Leighton tallied six points, four boards and a block, while Moore chipped in six points, two steals an assist and a rebound.
The Hawks outrebounded the Warriors, 42-32, and also turned the ball over just seven times, while forcing 17 Nyack turnovers. Nyack outshot Saint Anselm, 37.8 percent (17-45) to 32.3 percent (21-65), including 42.9 percent (3-7) to 27.8 percent (5-18) from behind the arc.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 5:30 p.m. when they open up Northeast-10 play with a trip to take on Stonehill College. The next home game for the Hawks is Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to Southern New Hampshire University at Stoutenburgh. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).
