MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) scored a team-high 12 points, but the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team dropped a 63-43 decision to Saint Michael's College on Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.

The Hawks fall to 4-21 on the season, including 1-20 in Northeast-10 play, while the Purple Knights improve to 10-15, 8-13 NE-10.

Jones was 4-for-12 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line to go along with six rebounds and a pair of assists.

Saint Anselm fell behind 4-0 early before an 11-2 run, which was sparked by a 3-pointer from junior Ashley Viselli (Groveland, Mass.), put them on top, 11-6, with 12:52 remaining in the opening half. A 5-0 counter-run knotted the game at the 11:19 mark, but a 7-0 spurt – with five points from Jones – opened up an 18-11 lead for the Hawks with just under nine minutes to go.

The Purple Knights answered with eight straight points to go back up by one, but the Hawks grabbed their lead back on a trey from Krista O'Gara (New Fairfield, Conn.) with 5:52 left. The lead climbed to 26-22 just over two minutes later, but Saint Michael's closed the half on a 6-0 run to take a 28-26 lead into the break.

The Hawks slowly whittled their deficit down to just one with 12:41 to play, but a 19-2 run – with six points from Cara Deroy and five from Megan Olsen – gave Saint Michael's a commanding 56-38 advantage with 5:49 on the clock. The lead went to a game-high 21 for the Purple Knights at 62-41 with 2:35 left.

McKeon added a career-best eight points (3-5 FG; 2-2 FT) and pulled down four rebounds, while O'Gara also netted eight points (2-5 FG; 2-3 3-FG; 2-2 FT). Sophomore Allie Jones (So. Kingstown, R.I.) chipped in six points (3-6 FG), four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.

The Purple Knights held a slight 36.7 percent (18-49) to 32.6 percent (14-43) shooting advantage, while the Hawks were better from beyond the arc (.500-.364). Saint Michael's outrebounded Saint Anselm, 35-29, and owned a 20-10 margin in points off turnovers after forcing 21 and committing 16.

Alexa Long led Saint Michael's with 16 points.

The Hawks return to action in their season finale on Tuesday, Feb. 26 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 (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).