MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.) turned in a double-double performance, but the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team fell to the University of New Haven, 77-55, Wednesday evening at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks dip to 4-9 on the season, including 2-6 in Northeast-10 play, while the Chargers, who defeated Saint Anselm for the second time in a one-week span, better their record to 11-2, 5-2 NE-10.
Johnson matched her career high with 17 points (5-14 FG, 7-8 FT) and corralled 13 rebounds. Freshman Ali Glennon (Bedford, N.H.) netted a career-best 15 points (5-13 FG, 2-7 3-FG, 3-4 FT) and collected three rebounds.
Aquillin Hayes and Briana Bradford each scored 15 points for New Haven.
After falling behind, 2-0, the Hawks went on an 8-0 run – powered by four points from sophomore Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) – to grab a six-point lead 3:23 in. New Haven countered with a 24-5 blitz that featured nine points from Ashley Leblanc and opened up a 26-13 advantage with 6:13 left in the opening stanza.
A 3-pointer from sophomore Caitlyn Abela (No. Easton, Mass.) sparked a 7-0 spurt later in the half that pulled Saint Anselm within 35-29 with under two minutes remaining. New Haven would respond with five straight points, but the Hawks answered by ending the half with a 5-0 run of their own to go into the break trailing, 40-34.
Hayes came out of the locker room aggressive and contributed five points to a 7-2 stretch that widened New Haven's lead to 47-36 with 16:18 left. Glennon answered with seven points during a 10-2 run that slashed the Saint Anselm deficit to just three at 51-48 with 10:09 on the clock.
The Chargers hit back by closing the game on a 26-7 wave – with eight points from Bradford and six each from Hayes and India Dotson – that brought the final margin to 22, which was New Haven's largest lead of the contest.
Duarte posted eight points (2-6 FG, 4-8 FT), eight rebounds and three steals, while Abela also scored eight points (3-10 FG, 2-7 3-FG) and pulled down five boards.
New Haven outshot Saint Anselm, 45.8 percent (27-59) to 27.7 percent (18-65), including 46.2 percent (6-13) to 21.7 percent (5-23) from beyond the arc and 50 percent (12-24) to 16.1 percent (5-31) in the second half. The Chargers also owned the paint (32-18), won the glass (41-39) and featured a better assist-to-turnover ratio (17/12-11/13). The Hawks held a 17-10 advantage on the glass, but second chance points were even at eight apiece, while New Haven recorded a 15-9 margin in points off turnovers.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Jan. 10 at 1:30 p.m. when they take on Adelphi University. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Jan. 17 at 1:30 p.m. when they play host to Pace University 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.
