NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Senior Curran Leighton (Dover, N.H.) scored 14 points and freshman Raquel Johnson (Long Beach, Calif.) added 12, but the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team dropped Wednesday evening's 59-54 contest against Southern Connecticut State University at the Moore Field House.
The Hawks fall to 4-12 on the season, including 1-11 in Northeast-10 play, while the Owls improve to 5-10, 2-10 NE-10.
Leighton was 6-for-10 from the floor, including 2-for-5 from long range. Johnson, making the first collegiate start of her career, shot 5 of 8 from the field and 2 of 4 at the line to go along with four steals, three assists and four rebounds.
Leading 13-12 at the 10:37 mark of the opening half, the Hawks grabbed the biggest advantage for either side to that point in the contest when a 3-pointer from Leighton and a layup by freshman Krista O'Gara (New Fairfield, Conn.) made it 18-12 with 10:11 remaining in the opening half.
A pair of free throws from Johnson made it an eight-point game at 22-14, but a 10-0 run – bookended by Camille Fantini 3-pointers – erased the deficit and put Southern Connecticut on top, 24-22, with 3:42 to play.
Layups by junior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) and Johnson put the Hawks back in the lead at 26-24 with less than two minutes left, but Amani Lightbourne and Katie Stopera answered with layups of their own to give the Owls a 28-26 edge with 1:26 on the clock.
Junior Meg Morrissey (So. Kingstown, R.I.) closed the scoring with one of two at the line to send Saint Anselm into the locker room trailing, 28-27.
After junior Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass.) kicked off the second-half scoring with a jumper 1:09 in, the lead changed hands five times and the score was tied twice until the Hawks crafted a 7-0 run – capped by a 3-pointer from junior Kierra Moore (Albany, N.Y.) – to grab a 41-36 lead with 12:25 remaining.
The Owls came back to take the lead, however, after three Jackie Beathea baskets made it 42-41 at the 9:34 mark. After the teams traded baskets, a Morrissey layup and a Leighton trey put the Hawks on top, 48-44, with 8:31 to play.
Southern Connecticut hit back with a 10-0 run, which included six points from Beathea, that gave it a 54-48 advantage with 5:01 left. Jones later hit a layup that cut it to four and after Nicole Grossbard made one of two at the line, Leighton dropped in a layup to trim the deficit to 57-54 with five seconds on the clock. Grossbard then iced it two seconds later with a pair of free throws.
Jones registered eight points, five boards and three steals, while Lehr posted six points and six rebounds. O'Gara also chipped in six points.
Saint Anselm outshot Southern Connecticut, 48.8 percent (21-43) to 37.3 percent (22-59), including 52.4 percent (11-21) to 37.9 percent (11-29) in the second half. Long-range shooting was nearly even, with the Owls holding a slight 27.3 percent (6-22) to 26.7 percent (4-15) edge. Rebounding was even at 34 apiece and the Hawks outscored the Owls, 30-28, in the paint.
Stopera led all scorers with 18 points for the Owls, while Beathea added 17.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Jan. 26 at 1:30 p.m. when they play host to Le Moyne College. 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).
