MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior Ashley Viselli (Groveland, Mass.) narrowly missed out on a double-double as the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team notched a 45-40 victory against the University of the Sciences in its season opener Friday evening, as it played host to the Saint Anselm Tip-Off Classic at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks begin their season 1-0 for the fourth straight year, while the Devils, which finished 19-11 and advanced to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference title game a year ago, start off at 0-1.
Viselli set career highs in points (9), rebounds (9), steals (3) and minutes (36) for the Hawks, who were in desperate need of a spark on the offensive end. Senior Curran Leighton (Dover, N.H.) tallied eight points, three boards, two blocks and a steal. Junior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) and sophomore Allie Jones (Wakefield, R.I.) recorded seven points, nine rebounds and seven points, seven rebounds, respectively.
Saint Anselm grabbed a 9-2 lead in the early going as junior Kierra Moore (Albany, N.Y.) knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing with 13:05 remaining in the opening half. With the lead still seven less than two minutes later, four straight points from Leighton pushed the Hawks lead to 11 at 15-4 with just under nine minutes to play.
The Devils answered with a 10-1 run that trimmed the Saint Anselm lead to just a pair, but treys from Viselli and freshman Krista O'Gara (New Fairfield, Conn.) bumped the advantage back to eight with 1:24 on the clock. After the teams traded baskets, a Jessica Sylvester 3-pointer as time expired sliced Sciences' deficit to five at 24-19 heading into the break.
The Hawks opened the second half with pair of Allie Jones free throws, followed by layup from junior Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass.) that expanded the lead to nine at 28-19 just 3:11 in. Six straight points from the Devils would trim the Saint Anselm lead back to three, but the Hawks would hit back as a Lehr jumper with 9:17 remaining once again made the lead nine at 37-28.
Another 6-0 run for the Devils – this one bookended by a pair of Becca Ruggear baskets – would pull them back within three at 37-34 with less than five minutes to play. The teams would trade baskets twice before a Viselli free throw and second one from junior Meg Morrissey (South Kingstown, R.I) gave the Hawks 43-38 edge with just under a minute left in regulation. Allie Jones and Viselli would each add another free throw to widen the gap to seven before Carolyn Edwards drained a jumper with seven seconds left to close the scoring.
The Saint Anselm defense, which held the Devils to 28.6 percent (18-63) shooting from the floor, including 11.8 percent (2-17) from deep, buckled down in the final three minutes and forced the visitors to shoot 1 of 7 and turn the ball over once.
Lehr finished with five points, seven boards, three assists and two steals, while Moore chipped in three points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals. O'Gara added five points, three rebounds and an assist in her first nine minutes of collegiate basketball.
Brianne Traub led the Devils with 14 points to go along with seven rebounds, while Ruggear tallied 10 points, 14 boards and three steals.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. when they wrap up the Saint Anselm Tip-Off Classic against Nyack College at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium. 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).
