WALTHAM, Mass. – Sophomore Caitlyn Abela (No. Easton, Mass.) scored a team-high 13 points, but the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team opened 2015 with a 66-51 defeat against Bentley University on Saturday at the Dana Center.
The Hawks drop their fifth straight to fall to 4-7 on the season, including 2-5 in Northeast-10 play. The Falcons, the defending National Champions, win their third straight to improve to 7-5, 2-5 NE-10.
Abela shot just 3-for-13, including 1-for-8 from beyond the arc, but went 6-for-7 from the line and scored 11 of her points in the second half to go along with five rebounds.
Lauren Green paced Bentley with 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting, including 5 of 7 from deep.
After Saint Anselm jumped out to a 4-0 lead 1:40 in, Green drained a trio of 3-pointers to power an 11-2 run that gave Bentley a five-point lead with 12:18 remaining in the opening half.
Baskets from Abela, junior Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.) and freshman Clairee Putnam (Windham, N.H.) catapulted the Hawks back into the lead at 12-11 with 10:42 left, but a 6-0 counter-run from Bentley opened a 17-12 lead for the Falcons with 7:18 on the clock.
Freshman Ali Glennon (Bedford, N.H.) snapped an 0-for-8 start from beyond the arc for the Hawks as she knocked in a 3 from the left corner to make it a two-point game with just under six minutes left. Glennon drilled another trey with 4:05 remaining to keep the margin at two at 21-19.
A 3-pointer from the right wing by junior Nancy Stablein (Shelton, Conn.) with 2:40 to play put the Hawks in front, 24-23, but with the game tied at 26 with under two minutes to play, Bentley would score the final five points of the half to take a 31-26 lead into the break.
Bentley opened the second half on a 9-3 run that expanded its advantage to 40-29 just over four minutes in. The Hawks would claw back to within seven, but a 9-2 stretch – with a pair of 3-pointers from Jane White and one from Green – bumped the lead to 14 at 49-35 with 12:03 remaining.
Three points each from Stablein and Abela would make up a 6-0 spurt later in the half that sliced the deficit to single digits at 54-45 with 5:34 left, but a 6-1 counter-run from the Falcons pushed their lead back to 14 again at 60-46 with 3:53 on the clock.
Five straight from Abela made it a nine-point game once again just under a minute later, but Bentley scored the final six of the contest to seal the win.
Glennon finished with eight points (3-7 FG, 2-6 3-FG), five rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Stablein also netted eight points (3-8 FG, 2-4 3-FG). Johnson chipped in six points (3-6 FG), four rebounds and four assists, with sophomore Aliyah Smith (Medford, N.Y.) adding six points (2-9 FG, 2-4 FT), four rebounds and four helpers. Classmate Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) pulled down nine boards to go along with four points.
Bentley outshot Saint Anselm, 44.2 percent (23-52) to 28.6 percent (16-56), including 50 percent (11-22) to 21.7 percent (5-23) from 3-point land. The Hawks made more free throws (14) than the Falcons attempted (12) and won both the glass (38-35) and the paint (20-16), while holding a 12-6 margin in second chance points after a 16-8 edge in offensive rebounds. Each team committed 16 turnovers.
The Hawks return to action Monday, Jan. 5 at 5:30 p.m. when they take on American International College in non-conference action. The next home game for the Hawks is Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to the University of New Haven in a Northeast-10 contest 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.
