MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Allie Jones (So. Kingstown, R.I.) and freshman Krista O'Gara (New Fairfield, Conn.) each scored a team-high 11 points, but the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team was defeated by Merrimack College, 73-48, Wednesday evening at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks drop to 4-18 on the season, including 1-17 in Northeast-10 play, while the Warriors halt a six-game losing streak to improve to 12-10, 8-10 NE-10.
Jones was 5-for-9 from the field and sank her only free throw, while pulling down seven rebounds and handing out three assists. O'Gara shot 4 of 8 from the floor, including 3 of 6 from behind the arc. Junior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) was also in double figures with 10 points (4-10 FG; 2-3 FT) to go along with five rebounds and a pair of assists.
A 3-pointer from O'Gara and a three-point play from Briana Jones staked the Hawks to an early 6-2 lead, but a 9-0 Merrimack run after the teams traded baskets put the Warriors on top, 13-8, just 5:05 into the opening half.
After O'Gara stopped the run with a layup, an 11-2 stretch – with five points from Ashley Weissmann – gave Merrimack a 24-12 advantage at the 6:04 mark. Another O'Gara trey slashed the Saint Anselm deficit to nine, but the Warriors reeled off an 11-1 run – with five points from Jaclyn Lyons and four from Kelly Schatzlein – to open up a 35-16 lead with 17 seconds left. Allie Jones closed the scoring with a three-point play with two seconds on the clock and the Hawks went into the locker room trailing, 35-19.
Allie Jones kicked off the second-half scoring with a driving layup, before the Warriors answered with five straight to push the lead back to 19 just 2:10 in. A 3-pointer from junior Ashley Viselli (Groveland, Mass.) highlighted a 7-3 run for the Hawks, but Allison Wagner hit back-to-back treys to put Merrimack up, 49-28, with 13:58 remaining.
The lead was 23 at 56-33 later in the half when a Viselli trifecta and a Briana Jones layup trimmed it to 18 at the 8:18 mark. The deficit was 19 just over a minute later when six straight points gave Merrimack its largest lead of the night at 67-42 with 5:19 to play. The teams traded baskets three more times to close the scoring.
Viselli posted eight points (2-4 FG; 2-2 3-FG; 2-2 FT), eight rebounds and two assists.
Merrimack outshot Saint Anselm, 52 percent (26-50) to 46.3 percent (19-41), while the Hawks returned the favor and outshot the Warriors, 45.5 percent (5-11) to 40 percent (8-20), from deep. Saint Anselm held a slight 27-26 edge on the glass, but was outscored in the paint, 36-26. Merrimack also forced 30 turnovers and only turned it over 16 times for a 30-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
Schatzlein led Merrimack with 15 points and 10 boards, while Lyons added 13.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Feb. 16 at 1:30 p.m. when they travel across the state to take on Franklin Pierce University. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Feb. 23 at 1:30 p.m. when they play host to Saint Michael's 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 (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).
