COLCHESTER, Vt. – Sophomore Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) poured in a career-high 27 points to lead the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team to an 84-76 victory against Saint Michael's College on Wednesday evening at the Ross Sports Center.
The Hawks snap a two-game skid to improve to 4-2 on the season, including 2-2 in Northeast-10 play, while the Purple Knights dip to 4-3, 1-3 NE-10.
Andrews knocked down a career-best 11 shots on 19 attempts and went 5-for-8 at the line, while matching her career high with seven assists to go along with three rebounds, two steals and a block. Sophomore Caitlyn Abela (No. Easton, Mass.) matched her career best with 19 points (6-12 FG, 4-10 3-FG, 3-4 FT) and registered four rebounds and three assists. Freshman Erin Waters (Pawling, N.Y.) reached a career high with 12 points (4-5 FG, 4-4 FT) and added four boards and a pair of blocks. Sophomore Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) posted her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points (4-8 FG, 2-5 FT) and 14 rebounds, while blocking three shots.
Maggie Sabine paced the Purple Knights with 16 points.
An Andrews layup gave the Hawks the first lead of more than three points for either team at 15-10 just four-and-a-half minutes into the game. Saint Anselm nudged the gap to 18-12 when a 20-3 explosion from the Purple Knights gave them a 32-21 lead with 4:06 to play in the opening half. Five different Saint Michael's scorers fueled the run, with Indira Evora leading the way with six points and Tomi Akinpetide providing five.
Baskets from sophomore Aliyah Smith (Medford, N.Y.) and junior Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.) sparked a 12-2 counter-run that saw five different Hawks score and closed the half with Saint Anselm trailing by just one at 34-33.
After an Andrews basket opened the second half and gave Saint Anselm the 35-34 lead, Saint Michael's responded with four straight before a 6-0 spurt – with four points from Andrews – gave Saint Anselm a 41-38 advantage 3:38 in. An Akinpetide hoop trimmed the Purple Knights' deficit to one, but Abela and freshman Ali Glennon (Bedford, N.H.) drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to highlight a 13-6 run that opened the Hawks' lead to 54-46 with 12:46 to go.
With the lead still eight just over three minutes later, another Abela trey capped a short 5-2 spurt that stretched the Saint Anselm lead to 11 at 66-55 with 7:06 on the clock. After a Duarte layup gave the Hawks their largest lead of the night at 72-60 with 4:22 left, the Purple Knights responded with a 9-2 run that included five points from Evora and trimmed their deficit to 74-69 with 2:25 remaining.
Saint Anselm answered by going 5-for-6 at the line to regain a 10-point lead at 79-69 with under a minute to play and then again went 5-for-6 at the stripe to close out the game and hold off the Purple Knights.
Johnson tallied nine points (4-9 FG, 1-2 FT), eight rebounds, four assists and two helpers, while Glennon chipped in five points (1-2 FG, 1-1 3-FG, 2-4 FT) and three boards.
The Hawks shot a season-high 49.2 percent (31-63), while the Purple Knights hit at a 47.6 percent (30-63) clip. Saint Michael's returned the favor from deep, 45.4 percent (5-11) to 31.3 percent (5-16). Despite also being outshot at the line, 73.3 percent to 58.6 percent, Saint Anselm made more free throws (17) than Saint Michael's attempted (15). The Hawks controlled the glass, 41-34, while the paint was even, 42-42. Saint Anselm also turned it over 16 times, while forcing 19 Saint Michael's mistakes for an 18-14 edge in points off turnovers.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Dec. 6 at 1:30 p.m. when they play host to Franklin Pierce 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.
