WALTHAM, Mass. – Freshman Krista O'Gara (New Fairfield, Conn.) scored 10 points, but the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team opened up the new year with a 72-49 loss at second-ranked Bentley University on Saturday afternoon at the Dana Center.

The Hawks drop to 4-7 on the season, including 1-6 in Northeast-10 play, while the Falcons remain perfect at 11-0, 7-0.

O'Gara shot 3-for-6 from the field, including 3-for-5 from deep, and 1-for-2 at the line, while pulling down four rebounds in 16 minutes.

The game was tied at three early on when Bentley ran off seven straight points, including four from Lauren Battista, to grab a 10-3 lead 5:41 into the opening half. Layups by junior Meg Morrissey (So. Kingstown, R.I.) and sophomore Allie Jones (So. Kingstown, R.I.) trimmed the Saint Anselm deficit back to three, but the Falcons went on a 26-5 run over the final 11:52 of the stanza to go into the locker room with a 36-12 advantage.

Battista, who had eight points at the half, started the second period with back-to-back baskets that made it 40-12 just 32 seconds in. The lead was still 28 just over three minutes later when Battista sparked a 6-0 spurt that gave Bentley its largest lead of the afternoon at 51-17 with 14:55 remaining.

With the gap still at 34 nearly two minutes later, freshman Alexius Hampton (Charlotte, N.C.) drilled consecutive 3-pointers to cut it to 52-24 at the 13:10 mark. The margin was the same three-and-a-half minutes later when Kelsey Roberson drained a 3 to open it up to 63-32 midway through the second half, but junior Ashley Viselli (Groveland, Mass.) and O'Gara responded with back-to-back treys before junior Kierra Moore (Albany, N.Y.) dropped in a layup that trimmed the Bentley lead to 63-40 with 6:41 to play.

The Hawks would get as close as 20 at 68-48 with 2:47 left before a pair of Tyler Parker Kimball layups pushed it to 24. A Viselli free throw followed to close the scoring with 1:23 remaining.

Viselli tallied eight points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block, while Moore also chipped in eight points. Jones registered six points, four boards and two assists, with Hampton also adding six points.

The Falcons outshot the Hawks, 50 percent (27-54) to 32.7 percent (16-49), including 41.7 percent (10-24) to 33.3 percent (8-24) from beyond the arc. Saint Anselm held a 36-30 advantage on the glass, but Bentley held a 32-10 margin in the paint and turned the ball over 15 times, while forcing 24 turnovers.

Battista led the way for Bentley with 17 points.

The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 5:30 p.m. when they travel to take on the College of Saint Rose. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Jan. 12 at 1:30 p.m. when they play host to American International 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).