WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Junior Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.) and sophomore Caitlyn Abela (No. Easton, Mass.) each scored 11 points for the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team, but the University of New Haven – behind a terrific second half – posted a 70-46 non-conference victory Wednesday afternoon at Charger Gymnasium.
The Hawks lose their fourth straight to fall to 4-6 on the season, while the Chargers improve to 9-2 after outscoring Saint Anselm, 43-17, in the second half.
Johnson, who scored nine of her points in the first half, made five of her 13 shot attempts and was 1-for-4 at the line as she nearly turned in a double-double with nine rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. Abela was 4 of 13 from the floor, including 2 of 9 from deep, and 1 of 2 from the stripe, to go along with four boards and a pair of steals. She scored eight first-half points.
Elizabeth Caruso led New Haven with a game-high 14 points, all of which came in the second stanza.
New Haven led 12-9 with 12 minutes remaining in the opening half when a layup from sophomore Aliyah Smith (Medford, N.Y.) sparked a 10-2 run that featured six points from Johnson and opened up a 19-14 lead midway through the first half.
The Chargers answered back with a 6-0 counter-run that was powered by four points from Rykema Stone and put New Haven back in the lead at 20-19 with 7:17 to play. Sophomore Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) dropped in a basket 16 seconds later that gave the Hawks the lead back, but a Bria Moore 3-pointer put New Haven in front, 23-21, with 4:13 to go.
Abela answered with a trey of her own, however, to trade the lead once more. The lead swapped again as Moore and Aquillin Hayes sank jumpers that nudged the New Haven lead to 27-24 with just over a minute on the clock, but a Smith layup and a left-wing 3-pointer just before the buzzer sounded from freshman Jillian Fama (Lynnfield, Mass.) sent Saint Anselm into the locker room with a 29-27 edge.
Any thoughts of a New Year's Eve upset for Saint Anselm were quickly dampened as New Haven charged out of the locker room on a 23-4 blitz that included 11 points from Caruso and seven from Ashley Leblanc to open up a 50-33 gap with 12:47 remaining. The Chargers shot 9-for-11, including 4-for-5 from deep, during the stretch.
The Hawks chipped the deficit to 16 before New Haven closed the game on an 11-3 run as Lauren Hebert's layup with six seconds left closed the scoring and gave the Chargers their largest lead of the afternoon.
Smith tallied nine points (4-14 FG, 1-4 3-FG) – seven in the first half – four assists and three rebounds, while Duarte recorded eight points (2-5 FG, 4-9 FT) and seven boards. Fama added a career-best six points (2-7 FG, 2-6 3-FG) and two rebounds.
New Haven outshot Saint Anselm, 44.6 percent (29-65) to 27.4 percent (17-62), including 56.7 percent (17-30) to 16.1 percent (5-31) in the second half. After bettering the Chargers from beyond the arc in the first half, 36.4 percent (4-11) to 9.1 percent (1-11), the Hawks made just 1 of 17 (5.9%) from deep in the second half, while New Haven went 5-for-11 (45.5%). The Chargers owned the glass (53-37), featured a much better assist-to-turnover ratio (21/9-8/6) and won the paint (22-20).
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Jan. 3 at 1:30 p.m. when they ring in the New Year by jumping back into conference play and taking on Bentley University. The next home game for the Hawks is Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to New Haven in a Northeast-10 matchup 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.
