MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) and Sophomore Allie Jones (Wakefield, R.I.) each narrowly missed double-doubles as the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team posted a 53-32 non-conference victory against Chestnut Hill College on Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks bump their record to 3-2 after holding Chestnut Hill to the second lowest scoring output in program history. The Griffins sink to 1-4.
Briana Jones led all scorers with 10 points on 5 of 9 shooting to go along with nine rebounds, two steals and an assist in just 19 minutes. Allie Jones added nine points on 3 of 9 shooting from the field and a perfect 3 of 3 shooting from the line, while tallying nine boards, four assists, three blocks and three steals.
The Hawks jumped out to a 9-0 lead with four different starters recording a basket. Allie Jones kicked off the scoring with a layup inside just 23 seconds in. After a Chestnut Hill turnover, senior Curran Leighton (Dover, N.H.) knocked down a 3-pointer and Saint Anselm had a 5-0 lead under a minute into the contest. Buckets by junior Meg Morrissey (South Kingstown, R.I.) and Briana Jones rounded out the run.
A Lindsay Alexander jumper 4:20 into the game put the Griffins on the board. After Alexander hit one of two at the line, a 7-0 Saint Anselm run widened the gap to 16-3 at the 10:25 mark. Freshman Alexius Hampton (Charlotte, N.C.) knocked down an 18-foot jumper before classmate Krista O'Gara (New Fairfield, Conn.) swished a 3 from the right corner to nudge the lead to double digits. Allie Jones then converted a pair at the stripe to cap the run.
Chestnut Hill responded with 7-0 run of its own to trim its deficit to six at 16-10 with 5:31 remaining in the opening half. An old-fashioned three-point play from Allie Jones pushed the lead back to nine, but four straight points pulled the Griffins within five with 2:00 on the clock. Leighton buried another 3 with 44 seconds left, but a Tenisha Townsend-Mobley layup with 25 seconds to go, followed by a Brittany McDonough 25-foot heave as time expired, sliced the Saint Anselm advantage to 22-19 heading into the break.
Allie Jones posted seven points and six boards at the half.
The Hawks quickly bumped their lead back to eight as they opened the second half with a Briana Jones jumper and a Viselli trey that made it 27-19 just 1:37 in. A three-point play from Aimee Bouie cut it back to five, but a 9-0 Saint Anselm run opened the lead up to 36-22 just 5:05 in. A layup by Allie Jones and a jumper by Briana Jones sparked the run before a 3-pointer from junior Mariah Wynn (Boston, Mass.) and a layup from junior Kierra Moore (Albany, N.Y.) finished it.
The lead was still 14 later in the half when an Olivia Gorczynski layup cut it to 12, but an O'Gara 3 and a Morrissey layup after a Chestnut Hill turnover made it 43-26 with 9:24 to play. Gorczynski answered with a 3-pointer, but the Hawks ran off 10 straight points to take their largest lead of the afternoon at 53-29 with just 1:56 on the clock. Junior Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass.) had four points during the run. Gorczynski then splashed another 3 with 1:37 left to close the scoring.
Leighton compiled eight points, four rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal, while Morrissey chipped in six points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. O'Gara recorded six points and three steals.
The Hawks outshot the Griffins, 34.4 percent (22-64) to 25.5 percent (13-51), including 30 percent (6-20) to 22.2 percent (4-18) from behind the arc. Saint Anselm also made all three of its free throw attempts, while Chestnut Hill was just 2 of 9 (22.2%) from the stripe. The Hawks won the battle on the glass, 46-35, and held a 16-12 advantage in the paint. The Hawks' stifling defense forced 21 turnovers, while the offense turned the ball over 15 times.
Bouie led the Griffins with nine points, while Gorczynski added eight.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 5:30 p.m. when they resume Northeast-10 play and take on Merrimack College. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Dec. 1 at 1:30 p.m. when they play host to Franklin Pierce 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).
