ALBANY, N.Y. – Sophomore Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) poured in a game-high 26 points to lead the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team to Saturday afternoon's 80-74 victory against the College of Saint Rose at Nolan Gymnasium.
The Hawks win for the second time in three games to climb to 6-12 on the season, including 4-9 in Northeast-10 play, while the Golden Knights drop to 8-10, 5-7 NE-10.
Andrews hit 9 of 18 shots from the floor and was 8 of 9 from the free throw line, while dishing six assists, swiping six steals and pulling down three rebounds. Freshman Ali Glennon (Bedford, N.H.) netted a career-high 16 points (6-9 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 2-2 FT) to go along with five boards and two steals. Junior Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.) scored 13 points (3-6 FG, 7-8 FT) and pulled down four rebounds, while sophomore Caitlyn Abela (No. Easton, Mass.) posted 12 points (4-8 FG, 3-6 3-FG, 1-2 FT) and five rebounds.
Mariah Lesure paced Saint Rose with 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Saint Anselm trailed, 16-15, just 6:14 in when sophomore Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) sank the first of two three throws to tie the game for the sixth time and spark a 9-0 run, which featured five points from junior Nancy Stablein (Shelton, Conn.) and opened a 24-16 advantage with 11:19 remaining in the opening half.
An Abela trey later in the stanza nudged the Hawks' lead to 37-28 with 4:41 on the clock, but with the gap still nine over three minutes later, the Golden Knights closed the half with a 5-0 spurt that trimmed their deficit to 43-39 at the break.
Saint Anselm soared out of the locker room on an 8-2 wave that was punctuated by an Abela trifecta that broke open a 51-41 lead just 2:41 into the second half. An 8-2 counter-run from Saint Rose – with five points from Lesure – sliced the hosts' deficit to 53-49 with 12:19 to play.
The Hawks responded again as eight points from Johnson fueled a 12-4 burst that gave them their largest lead of the day at 65-53 with 7:32 left. An 8-2 spurt – with four points from Lesure – pulled Saint Rose within seven with five minutes to play, but Saint Anselm went 5 of 6 at the line over the following 1:43 to regain its 12-point lead.
Five more points from Lesure again cut the Saint Rose deficit to seven with 1:12 on the clock, but the Hawks went 5-for-6 at the stripe once more to nearly offset a pair of Golden Knights' 3-pointers and seal the win.
Duarte registered eight points (8-10 FT) and eight boards.
Saint Rose outshot Saint Anselm, 50.9 percent (29-57) to 46 percent (23-50), but the Hawks shot a season best from beyond the arc and held a 54.5 percent (6-11) to 35.3 percent (6-17) advantage. Saint Anselm narrowly won the glass, 31-29, and turned the ball over just 11 times, while forcing 16 Saint Rose mistakes for a 21-11 margin in points off turnovers. The Golden Knights owned the paint (32-12) and dished more assists (24-7).
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Jan. 31 at 1:30 p.m. when they play host to American International College 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.
