MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Caitlyn Abela (No. Easton, Mass.) poured in a career-high 19 points and classmate Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) recorded her first career double-double to lead the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team to Saturday evening's 63-49 victory against Felician College at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks, who opened with a 91-46 win against Wilmington (Del.) University on Friday night, begin the season 2-0 for the fifth consecutive year. The Golden Falcons fall to 0-2.
Abela shot 6-for-17 from the field, but was 5-for-12 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the line, in addition to grabbing seven rebounds and handing out three assists. Duarte registered 12 points (1-4 FG, 10-12 FT), pulled down a career-best 16 rebounds and blocked three shots. Sophomore Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) was also in double figures with 12 points (6-16 FG) to go along with six assists and three steals.
Danielle Gibson and Shyla Osmond led Felician with 14 points each.
Felician, which scored the game's first six points, held its largest lead of the contest at 15-7 with 10:43 remaining in the opening half. The Hawks whittled the gap down to seven nearly three minutes later before four straight points from Duarte kicked off an 18-4 barrage that transformed the seven-point deficit into a seven-point lead at 32-25 with 1:07 on the clock. Abela, who hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the middle of the stretch, contributed six points to the run, while Duarte added five.
Gibson answered the run with a 3-pointer, but Abela responded with her fourth trey of the half just before time expired to send Saint Anselm into the locker room with a 35-28 advantage. Abela had 14 at the break.
The Golden Falcons trimmed their deficit to three in the early part of the second half, but layups from Andrews and junior Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.) triggered a 14-4 rush that widened the gap to 55-42 with 6:50 to play. Johnson kicked in five points and a pair of offensive rebounds during the six-minute stretch.
Felician would never edge closer than 11 and Duarte sank 1 of 2 at the line with 38 seconds left to give the Hawks' their largest lead of the night and bring the game to its final score.
Johnson, who grabbed her first double-double with 13 points and 16 boards Friday, narrowly missed the feat a second time with eight points (3-8 FG, 1-2 3-FG, 1-2 FT) and nine rebounds, to go along with a block and a helper. Classmate Nancy Stablein (Shelton, Conn.) chipped in six points on a pair of big 3-pointers.
Felician narrowly outshot Saint Anselm, 34.4 percent (21-61) to 33.3 percent (21-63), but the Hawks returned the favor from deep, 28.6 percent (8-28) to 21.1 percent (4-19), and feasted at the line, 81.3 percent (13-16) to 37.5 percent (3-8). The Hawks also dominated the boards, 51-33, including 19-8 on the offensive end, and held an 18-2 stranglehold on second-chance points (18-2). The Golden Falcons owned a 16-9 advantage in points off turnovers after forcing 16 Saint Anselm mistakes and turning it over themselves just 11 times.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire University, which also went 2-0 against the same two teams this weekend. 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.
