RINDGE, N.H. – Freshman Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) scored a career-high 20 points and senior Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass.) posted her fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team erased a 13-point halftime deficit, but Franklin Pierce University pulled out the 72-69 victory Saturday afternoon at the Fieldhouse.
The Hawks dip to 6-5, including 2-4 in Northeast-10 play, while the Ravens jump to 4-5, 3-3 NE-10.
Andrews was 7-for-18 from the floor and 6-for-7 at the line, while adding seven steals, which matched her career high, four rebounds, two assists and a block. Lehr, meanwhile, was 7 of 16 from the field and 1 of 3 at the stripe as she matched her personal best in rebounds for the fourth time this season. Senior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) was also in double figures with 13 points (5-9 FG; 3-5 FT) to go along with four boards and a pair of assists.
Kara Charette paced Franklin Pierce with 20 points.
Following a basket just 34 seconds in from Andrews, the Ravens countered with a 16-5 surge – with six points from Charette – that put them in front by nine with 13:19 to play in the opening half. The Hawks would whittle their deficit to six just over a minute later, but a 7-3 spurt – highlighted by a 3-pointer from Ashley Forand and a Charette layup – would stretch the Franklin Pierce lead to 23-13 with 8:33 left.
The margin was 11 later in the half when a Brittany Martelle trey gave the Ravens their largest lead of the game at 33-19 with 1:08 to go. A right-wing 3-pointer from senior Ashley Viselli (Groveland, Mass.) would cut it to 11 with 15 seconds on the clock, but Charette dropped in a layup with three ticks left and Franklin Pierce went into the break with a 37-24 advantage.
Pierce still led by double figures at 48-37 with 13:30 to go when Saint Anselm tore off a 20-5 run – with seven points from Jones and six from Andrews – to grab its first lead since 18:59 of the first half at 57-53 with 6:10 remaining.
Baskets from Jessica Hurd and Martelle tied it 22 seconds later, but Jones put the Hawks back in front with a layup that made it 59-57 with 5:20 left. Dyamond Gardner answered with a 3-pointer from the right wing just 12 seconds later that gave Franklin Pierce the lead back at 60-59 and Saint Anselm would never lead again.
A three-point play from Hurd widened the gap to four and after a layup from senior Meg Morrissey (So. Kingstown, R.I.) cut it to two, Martelle drained a 3 that gave the Ravens a 66-61 lead with 3:19 to play. Andrews responded by dropping in a layup and then making a steal to set up a Morrissey basket that made it 66-65 with 2:39 on the clock.
Lehr would tie it at 67-all with a layup with 1:54 left after Brook Coderre made 1 of 2 at the line, but Martelle would hit another big shot to give Franklin Pierce the lead for good 17 seconds later. Coderre again missed one of two at the line to keep it a one-possession game at 70-67 with 18 seconds left.
After Andrews sunk a pair to slice the Saint Anselm deficit to one, Charette missed both from the stripe, but Hurd grabbed the offensive rebound and nailed both to make it 72-69 with 6.9 seconds to play. The Hawks had one more shot to tie it, but their 3 as time expired fell short.
Morrissey tallied seven points (2-8 FG; 3-4 FT), five assists, three rebounds and two steals, while Viselli netted seven points (1-4 FG; 1-2 3-FG; 4-4 FT) and collected a pair of rebounds.
Franklin Pierce outshot Saint Anselm, 49.1 percent (27-55) to 39.1 percent (25-64), including 41.2 percent (7-17) to 10 percent (1-10) from deep. The Ravens held a 41-35 advantage on the glass, while the Hawks owned a 38-34 edge in the paint. Saint Anselm also recorded a 26-6 gap in points off turnovers as it gave the ball away just nine times and forced 20 Franklin Pierce mistakes.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to nationally-ranked Stonehill 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 and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
