MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) poured in a game-high 20 points and classmate Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass.) registered her fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team to Wednesday evening's 79-66 victory against Saint Michael's College at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks improve to 6-4 on the season, including 2-3 in Northeast-10 play, while the Purple Knights dip to 2-5, 1-3 NE-10.
Jones did her damage on 5 of 13 shooting from the field and 10 of 11 shooting at the line, while grabbing five rebounds and handing out three assists. Lehr was 7-for-16 from the floor and a perfect 3-for-3 at the line as she matched her personal best in rebounds for the third time this season. Senior Meg Morrissey (So. Kingstown, R.I.) was also in double figures with 13 points (4-11 FG; 1-2 3-FG; 4-5 FT) to go along with six assists and three rebounds.
Alexa Long and Makenzie Burud paced Saint Michael's with 15 points apiece, as well as 10 and seven rebounds, respectively.
Saint Anselm trailed 9-8 5:38 into the contest when 3-pointers from senior Kierra Moore (Albany, N.Y.) and Morrissey bookended an 8-0 surge that gave the Hawks a 16-9 lead with 12:21 to play in the opening half.
Baskets from Burud and Long trimmed the Saint Michael's deficit to just a pair later in the half, but seven straight points from Raquel Johnson (Long Beach, Calif.) – over a span of exactly a minute – widened the Saint Anselm lead to 31-22 with 7:37 left.
The Hawks opened their largest lead of the half at 38-27 with 3:43 on the clock, but the Purple Knights closed the stanza on an 11-4 run, which featured six points from Indira Evora, to trim the halftime deficit to 42-38.
Saint Anselm responded with a 9-0 run out of the break as four different scorers balanced the stretch that made it 51-38 just under five minutes in. The Hawks would grow the lead to 15 later in the half, but a 10-2 burst brought the Purple Knights back into it at 59-52 with 6:58 remaining.
The lead was nine nearly five minutes later when eight straight points, including five from Lehr, gave the Hawks their largest lead of the night at 77-60 with 1:00 on the clock. A 3 from Cara Deroy would snap the run 13 seconds later and pull the visitors within 14, but the Hawks had more than enough cushion to earn the win.
Moore posted seven points (2-4 FG; 1-2 3-FG; 2-2 FT), four rebounds and two assists, while Johnson also netted seven points (2-4 FG; 1-1 3-FG; 2-2 FT) to go along with two assists and a pair of rebounds. Senior Allie Jones (So. Kingstown, R.I.) chipped in seven points (3-6 FG; 1-2 FT) and four boards.
Saint Michael's outshot Saint Anselm, 43.5 percent (27-62) to 38.8 percent (26-67), but the Hawks were better from 3, 50 percent (4-8) to 31.8 percent (7-22), and held a monster advantage at the line, where they knocked down 23 of 27 attempts. The Purple Knights were only 5 of 8 at the stripe. Saint Anselm also owned the glass, 45-35, including 17-8 on the offensive end, held a 32-30 edge in the paint and posted a 13-4 margin in points off turnovers as it only gave the ball away nine times and forced 13 Saint Michael's mistakes.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Dec. 7 at 1:30 p.m. when they travel to take on Franklin Pierce University. The next home game for the Hawks is Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to nationally-ranked Stonehill 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.
