MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) scored 18 points and junior Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.) posted a double-double with a career-high 17 points and 11 rebounds, but the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team suffered a 67-63 overtime loss to Franklin Pierce University on Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks fall to 4-3 on the season, including 2-3 in Northeast-10 play, while the Ravens improve to 6-2, 4-1 NE-10.
Andrews shot 9-for-24 to go along with four assists, three steals and three rebounds, while Johnson went 6 of 14 from the floor and 5 of 7 from the line, in addition to handing out three assists.
Kara Charette led Franklin Pierce with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
Andrews opened the overtime session with a jumper that put Saint Anselm on top, but Franklin Pierce answered with a basket from Jessica Hurd that tied the game with 1:08 to go. With the Ravens up one with 1:15 to play, sophomore Caitlyn Abela (No. Easton, Mass.) drilled a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Hawks the lead at 63-61.
Charette answered with a layup 24 seconds later to tie the game and then Franklin Pierce went ahead, 65-63, with 19 seconds remaining on a pair of Natalie Bastian free throws following a Saint Anselm turnover. Andrews missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with five seconds left and then Hurd converted a pair of free throws to seal the win.
Abela registered eight points (2-9 FG, 2-5 3-FG, 2-2 FT) and nine rebounds, while Hurd finished with 12 points and 12 boards.
Trailing 5-2 just over a minute in, the Hawks rattled off a 13-2 run – highlighted by a 3-pointer from Abela and four points from Johnson – to grab a 15-7 advantage at the 15:42 mark of the opening half.
With the margin still at eight nearly three minutes later, four points from Charette fueled a 6-0 spurt that pulled Franklin Pierce within a pair at 17-15 midway through the half. Back-to-back jumpers from Andrews ran the lead back to six, but an 8-0 stretch that featured four different scorers put the Ravens back in the lead at 23-21 with 4:31 to play.
A pair of Abela free throws tied the game, but four straight points from Alison Palma put Pierce up 27-23 with 3:15 remaining. Baskets from Johnson and Andrews knotted the contest again less than a minute later, but Franklin Pierce scored four of the half's final five points to bring a 31-28 lead into the locker room.
Four straight points from Johnston to open the half catapulted Saint Anselm into the lead at 32-31 just under two minutes in. After a Charette bucket traded the lead, the Hawks went on a 6-0 run to grab a 38-33 lead with 14:48 remaining. Four straight from the Ravens cut it to one before freshman Ali Glennon (Bedford, Mass.) canned a 3-pointer to push the lead to four.
The margin was five at 51-46 with 4:46 to go when five straight points knotted the game with 2:31 on the clock. The teams swapped scores twice to bring the score to 55-55 with 1:14 left. Sophomore Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) drew a foul and went to the line with 1:02 left and hit 1 of 2 to put the Hawks ahead. Dyamond Gardner did the same on the other end to leave the contest tied at 56 with 34 seconds remaining.
The Hawks ran the clock down before Andrews went to work and kicked the ball to an open Aliyah Smith (Medford, N.Y.) on the left wing, but her 3-pointer with five seconds left did not fall. The Ravens grabbed the rebound, but did not get off a shot before the buzzer.
Glennon reached career highs in points (8) and rebounds (6), while shooting 2-for-4 from deep and 2-for-2 from the stripe. Duarte chipped in five points (1-3 FG, 3-7 FT) and nine boards, while Smith also added five points (2-8 FG, 1-3 3-FG).
Franklin Pierce outshot Saint Anselm by the tiniest margin, 31.4 percent (22-70) to 31.1 percent (23-74), while the Hawks held a better mark from beyond the arc at 26.3 percent (5-19) to 12.5 percent (2-16). The Ravens cleaned up at the line, shooting 87.5 percent (24-21) to the Hawks' 60 percent (12-20). Pierce held advantages on the glass (53-49), in the paint (34-22) and in assist-to-turnover ratio (15/15-8/14).
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m. when they take on Stonehill College at Merkert Gymnasium. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Dec. 20 when they play host to Saint Michael's College in non-conference action at Stoutenburgh. 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.
