WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Freshman Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) poured in a career- and game-high 21 points, but the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team fell to the University of New Haven, 65-51, Wednesday afternoon at Charger Gymnasium.
The Hawks, who had won four of their last five contests entering the day, drop to 8-6 on the season, including 4-5 in Northeast-10 play, while the Chargers improve to 10-3, 5-2 NE-10, after winning their fourth straight.
Andrews buried a career-best eight shots on 15 attempts and was 5 of 6 at the line, while adding four rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block.
Briana Bradford paced New Haven with 20 points, while Aquillin Hayes added 18.
Trailing 6-4 early on, the Hawks used six points from Andrews to help craft an 8-0 run that gave them their largest lead of the game at 12-6 with 12:04 remaining in the opening half. New Haven responded with a 12-4 run – highlighted by four points from Hayes and three from Bradford – to jump back in the lead at 18-16 with 6:53 to play.
After the teams traded scores, baskets from seniors Ashley Viselli (Groveland, Mass.) and Mariah Wynn (Boston, Mass.) sparked an 8-2 stretch that sent Saint Anselm into the locker room with a 28-24 advantage. A huge three-point play from senior Kierra Moore (Albany, N.Y.) with 1:02 on the clock closed the first-half scoring.
The first 11-plus minutes of the second half featured six lead changes and a pair of ties before seven straight points from New Haven opened a 47-41 lead for the hosts with 7:11 left. Three straight points from senior Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass.) cut the Saint Anselm deficit in half nearly a minute later, but the Chargers ripped off an 18-3 run over the following 4:47 – with 11 points from Bradford – to seal the victory and grab their largest lead of the afternoon at 65-47 with 43 seconds on the clock.
Moore tallied eight points (2-8 FG; 1-6 3-FG; 3-3 FT), a career-high seven steals and three rebounds, while Wynn chipped in six points on 3 of 4 shooting. Senior Allie Jones (So. Kingstown, R.I.) added four points (2-6 FG), a team-high seven boards and a pair of assists. Lehr posted five points (2-4 FG; 1-2 FT) and four rebounds as she played just 23 minutes due to foul trouble.
New Haven outshot Saint Anselm, 44.4 percent (24-54) to 34.5 percent (19-55), including 27.3 percent (3-11) to 9.1 percent (1-11) from long distance. The Chargers also won the glass (39-34) and the paint (28-22), while turning it over 16 times and forcing 17 Hawk giveaways.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Jan. 11 at 1:30 p.m. when they play host to 13th-ranked Adelphi 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.
