NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Sophomore Caitlyn Abela (No. Easton, Mass.) scored a game-high 19 points, but the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team fell to Southern Connecticut State University, 67-60, Tuesday evening at the Moore Field House.
The Hawks dip to 4-11 on the season, including 2-8 in Northeast-10 play, while the Owls improve to 10-7, 7-2 NE-10.
Abela shot 7-for-19 from the field, including 3-for-8 from 3-point range, and a perfect 2-for-2 from the line, while pulling down five rebounds and handing out a pair of assists. Freshman Clairee Putnam (Windham, N.H.) was also in double figures with a career-best 13 points (6-8 FG, 1-2 3-FG) in 25 minutes off the bench.
Maria Wesleyj paced Southern Connecticut with 16 points.
Neither team scored for the first 4:41 until a layup from junior Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.) sparked a 6-0 run that also featured a key 3-pointer from Putnam.
Southern Connecticut jumped on the board at the 13:03 mark and crafted a 16-3 counter-run – with six points from Chandler Williams and five from Taylor McLaughlin – to open up a 16-9 advantage with 8:02 to play.
With the margin at six nearly two minutes later, a 6-0 spurt widened the Owls' lead to 25-13 with 5:08 to go. The Hawks' deficit was still 12 two minutes later when a 14-2 blitz – with eight points from Abela and four from Putnam – knotted the game at 31 with under 30 seconds on the clock. Wesleyj knocked down a 3-pointer with four seconds left to send Southern Connecticut into the locker room with a 34-31 edge. Abela led all scorers with 12 points at the break.
After the Owls expanded their lead to five, a 7-0 stretch – with four points from Putnam – put the Hawks in front, 39-37, nearly six minutes into the second half. The gap was still two when a 20-4 rush that featured six different scorers, including Mariah Hankton and Wesleyj, who each had five, pushed the Southern Connecticut lead to 59-45 with just under seven minutes remaining.
Both teams traded a pair of scores before Saint Anselm closed the game on an 11-4 run to slice the final margin to seven.
Freshman Ali Glennon (Bedford, N.H.) netted nine points (1-7 FG, 7-8 FT) to go along with four rebounds and two steals, while Johnson added eight points (3-12 FG, 2-2 FT), five boards and two helpers. Sophomore Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) posted six points (2-8 FG, 2-5 FT) and 13 rebounds.
Williams chipped in 12 points for Southern Connecticut, while Jackie Beathea registered seven points and 18 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end.
Southern Connecticut outshot Saint Anselm, 36.1 percent (26-72) to 33.9 percent (21-62), and made more 3-pointers (7-4), but each team shot 33.3 percent from deep. The Hawks made more free throws (14) than the Owls attempted (13) and outshot them from the line, 73.7 percent to 61.5 percent. The Owls won the glass, 50-42, including 18-12 on the offensive end, and had a better assist-to-turnover ratio (18/11-9/10), while the Hawks held a 28-20 advantage in the paint.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Jan. 17 at 1:30 p.m. when they play host to Pace 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.
