MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) scored a game-high 18 points, but the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team was handed an 89-58 loss by top-ranked Bentley University to kick off Northeast-10 play Wednesday evening at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks drop to 2-1 on the young season, including 0-1 in Northeast-10 play, while the Falcons remain perfect at 3-0, 1-0 NE-10.
Jones was an efficient 7 of 11 from the floor and made four of her six free throws to go along with a pair of rebounds and steals. Classmate Meg Morrissey (So. Kingstown, R.I.) was also in double figures with 11 points (4-9 FG; 1-1 3-FG; 2-3 FT) and added five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
Courtney Finn led Bentley with 16 points and eight boards, while Lauren Battista added 14 points and six rebounds.
Saint Anselm led 6-5 early on when a Caleigh Crowell 3-pointer sparked a 10-0 run that gave Bentley a 15-6 lead 4:01 in. The Falcons would never relinquish the lead, but a trey from senior Ashley Viselli (Groveland, Mass.) sliced the Hawks' deficit to three at 20-17 with 12:46 remaining in the opening half.
Bentley would respond with another 10-0 stretch that was again sparked by a Crowell trifecta. After Jones hit a jumper to stop the bleeding and cut it to 33-21 with 7:50 to go, the Falcons ripped off a 13-3 run – capped by five points from Jane White – to open the lead up to 46-24 with 2:35 remaining. Bentley would take a 49-26 lead into the break.
The Falcons opened the second half with seven straight points – the first five came from Battista – to push the margin to an even 30 at 56-26 with 15:40 on the clock. A 7-0 spurt from the Hawks later in the half would slice the deficit to 65-39 with 9:00 to go, but a 7-2 stretch from Bentley would run the lead back up to 31 (72-41) with 7:57 to play.
Bentley never let Saint Anselm get closer than 28 and used a Brittany Gregory layup with 1:17 remaining to grab its largest lead of the night at 87-53.
Senior Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass.) posted eight points and a career-best 11 rebounds, while freshman Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) chipped in eight points, three assists and two rebounds. Viselli added six points and six boards, with senior Mariah Wynn (Boston, Mass.) tallying six points and a pair of rebounds.
Bentley outshot Saint Anselm, 47.1 percent (32-68) to 36.7 percent (22-60), and controlled the glass (50-31), paint (44-16) and points off turnovers (21-9). The Falcons turned it over just 14 times and forced 17 giveaways.
The Hawks return to action Sunday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. when they play their first road game of the season against Chestnut Hill College. The next home game for the Hawks is Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to Merrimack College 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 and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
