MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) scored a team-high 11 points, but the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team dropped Saturday afternoon's matchup against Franklin Pierce University, 57-46, at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks fall to 3-4 on the season, including 0-4 in Northeast-10 play, while the Ravens improve to 4-2, 2-2 NE-10.
Jones also pulled down nine rebounds, handed out five assists and made two steals in 37 minutes of action.
After falling behind 4-0 in the opening minute, the Hawks tied the game at the 16:30 mark on layups by sophomore Allie Jones (So. Kingstown, R.I.) and junior Ashley Viselli (Groveland, Mass.). After Brittany Martell put the Ravens up with a 3-pointer, junior Kierra Moore (Albany, N.Y.) swished a 3-pointer of her own and the contest was tied at seven 4:02 in.
Kara Charette then hit one of two at the line to give Franklin Pierce a brief lead, but Saint Anselm came back with a 7-0 run that gave it a 14-8 advantage with 13:28 remaining. Allie Jones sparked the run with a layup before a 3-pointer by freshman Krista O'Gara (New Fairfield, Conn.) and another Viselli basket capped the stretch.
Amanda Saab halted the run by knocking down a 3 that sliced the deficit in half with 12:34 to play. With the margin still at three nearly four minutes later, a Kate McDonald free throw and a three-point play from Saab put FPU back on top, 17-16, with 7:40 left in the opening half.
A free throw from junior Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass.) and a Briana Jones jumper put the Hawks up by two before Saab knotted the game at 19 with 5:12 on the clock. The game was then tied for the seventh time in the first half when Viselli hit a big 3 to give the home team a 26-23 edge with 1:05 remaining. Brooke Corderre then dropped in a layup with 39 seconds remaining to close the scoring and send the Ravens into the locker room trailing by just one, 26-25.
Briana Jones opened the second-half scoring with a pair of free throws on separate trips to the line to expand the Hawks' lead to three just 2:01 in. Saab hit a layup to cut it to one and then Tiffany Johnson handed Franklin Pierce the lead for good with a layup at the 16:55 mark that made it 29-28.
The Ravens still led by one with 14:41 remaining when Johnson hit a pair of shots to ignite a 14-3 run that opened the lead up to 45-33 with 7:37 to go. Johnson and Saab each added four points during the stretch.
Senior Curran Leighton (Dover, N.H.) would trim the deficit to nine with a 3-pointer from the left corner with 6:50 to play, but the lead was once again 12 with 2:53 on the clock when Charette made one of two at the line to give the Ravens their largest lead of the afternoon at 54-41. Briana Jones would answer with one of two at the line before a Lehr jumper cut it to 10 with 1:33 left. The teams traded baskets before a Corderre free throw closed the scoring with 19 ticks on the clock.
Viselli netted nine points on a perfect 4 of 4 shooting in the opening half to go along with two assists and three steals. Allie Jones tallied eight points, three rebounds and three blocks.
Franklin Pierce outshot Saint Anselm, 51.2 percent (22-43) to 34.9 percent (15-43), while the Hawks hit 33.3 percent (4-12) of their shots from deep and the Ravens were just 2 of 9 (22.2) from downtown. Saint Anselm held a 27-25 edge on the boards, but FPU outscored the Hawks in the paint, 34-16.
Saab led the way for the Ravens with 18 points.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to the University of Massachusetts Lowell 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).
