WALTHAM, Mass. – Freshman Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) poured in a team-high 20 points, but the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team fell to top-ranked Bentley University, 98-82, on Saturday afternoon at the Dana Center.
The Hawks, who became the first team this season to score more than 68 points against Bentley, drop to 10-9 on the season, including 6-8 in Northeast-10 play. The Falcons remain perfect at 18-0, 13-0 NE-10, with all 18 wins coming by double figures.
Andrews shot 8 of 18 from the floor and made a career-best four 3-pointers on five attempts. Senior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y.) scored 15 points (3-10 FG; 2-3 3-FG; 7-8 FT) to go along with four rebounds and a pair of steals, while classmate Allie Jones (So. Kingstown, R.I.) netted 14 points (6-9 FG; 2-4 FT), 12 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks for her second double-double of the season. Fellow senior Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass.) was also in double figures with 12 points (6-13 FG) and six boards.
Courtney Finn led Bentley with a game-high 21 points and Lauren Battista added 20 to break the previous record of 1,800 points and become the program's all-time scoring leader. The Falcons also reached another milestone in the contest as head coach Barbara Stevens recorded her 900th victory to become the sixth women's coach to reach the mark.
After Bentley jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first 1:06 of action, a 3-pointer from Andrews and a layup from Allie Jones tied the game with 17:17 remaining in the opening half.
With the scored tied at eight nearly two minutes later, a 3-pointer from Jacqui Brugliera would give the Falcons the lead for good and spark a 14-4 run that made it 22-12 with 11:58 to play. Brugliera scored the first seven during the run, while Finn added the last five.
The margin was still 10 over six minutes later when eight points from Battista fueled a 12-3 binge that opened the Bentley lead to 47-28 with 2:51 left. After the Hawks had whittled it to 15, the Falcons closed the half on an 11-4 run that included a Finn trey with under three seconds on the clock that made it 58-36 at the break. Battista's basket with 1:08 left gave her 17 points for the half and Bentley's all-time scoring record.
The Falcons opened the second half on an 8-2 run – with four points from Brugliera – that stretched their lead to 66-38 just 1:37 in. A 5-0 spurt from the Hawks cut it back to 23 under a minute later, but a Battista 3-pointer started a 5-0 counter run from Bentley that made it 71-43 with 16:42 to play in the contest.
Saint Anselm again closed the gap with a balanced 10-4 run that sliced it to 75-53 with 13:14 remaining. After the teams traded baskets, Bentley responded with an 8-2 run that widened its advantage to 85-57 with 10:47 to play. Five straight points from Andrews sparked a 14-5 stretch from the Hawks that cut it to 90-71 at the 6:23 mark. Briana Jones contributed the final five points of the run.
Bentley would go up 98-77 with 1:54 left before senior Kierra Moore (Albany, N.Y.) scored the game's final five points to close the scoring.
Senior Meg Morrissey (So. Kingstown, R.I.) chipped in nine points (4-11 FG; 1-3 3-FG), two assists, two steals and two rebounds, while Moore added eight points (3-5 FG; 1-2 3-FG; 1-3 FT) and three rebounds.
Bentley outshot Saint Anselm, 61.4 percent (35-57) to 44.3 percent (31-70), while the Hawks held the edge from long distance, 61.5 percent (8-13) to 52.4 percent (11-21). The Falcons owned a slight edge on the glass (34-32), while the Hawks narrowly won the paint (36-34). Saint Anselm turned it over 15 times, while forcing 21 Bentley mistakes.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1:30 p.m. when they close out their four-game road stint against American International College. The next home game for the Hawks is Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. when they play host to crosstown-rival Southern New Hampshire University 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.
