MANCHESTER, N.H. – Five players recorded double-figures in points led by a team-high 18 points from Caitlyn Abela (North Easton, Mass.) as Saint Anselm College defeated Saint Michael's College, 77-70, on Tuesday night in Northeast-10 Conference action at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in Manchester, N.H.
The Hawks improve to 2-1 on the year and 2-1 in the NE-10, while the Purple Knights drop to 1-4 and 0-3 in league games.
Ali Glennon (Bedford, N.H.) joined Abela in double-digits with 13 points, while Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) added 12 points off the bench. Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) chipped in 11 points, with Clairee Putnam (Windham, N.H.) pouring in 10 of her own.
Samnell Vonleh (Swampscott, Mass.) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to go with a block, and Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.) had an all-around game with seven points, six rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Saint Michael's was led by a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds from Makenzie Burud (Red Hook, N.Y.). Indira Evora (Somerville, Mass.) added 14 points, while Megan Gaudreau (Brooklyn, Conn.) had 11 points. Samantha Delaney (Smithtown, N.Y.) grabbed eight rebounds and scored six points in the setback.
The Purple Knights jumped out to a 12-4 lead to start the contest following back-to-back baskets from Delaney and Burud. The Hawks slowly chipped away and a Glennon jumper cut the deficit to 12-8, but Saint Michael's scored the final four points of the period to take a 16-8 lead at the end of one quarter.
Saint Anselm came out firing to open the second quarter and quickly pulled to within one at 20-19 following a Glennon triple and Clairee Putnam knocked down a jumper to give the Hawks their first lead of the game with 5:56 to play in the half. The two teams traded baskets the rest of the period and Kaila Duarte scored the final bucket of the half on her own put-back to give Saint Anselm a 33-32 advantage at the break.
Back-to-back threes from Megan Gaudreau followed a pair of Indira Evora free throws to start the third quarter and the Purple Knights quickly took a 40-33 lead. Trailing 41-36 with 5:53 to play in the period, Caitlyn Abela knocked down back-to-back threes of her own from the same spot on the floor to erase the deficit and give the Hawks the 42-41 advantage.
A pair of Abela freebies kept the Hawks ahead 50-47 later in the quarter, and Clairee Putnam converted on a nice driving finish to put Saint Anselm on top 55-51 headed into the final frame.
Abela opened the fourth quarter with a personal 7-0 run to stake the home team to a 62-51 advantage. Two Raquel Johnson free throws gave the Hawks their largest lead of the game at 67-54 with 5:45 remaining. The Purple Knights would get to within six following a Burud jumper, but Duarte drilled a 15-footer on the ensuing Hawks possession and Putnam went 4-for-4 at the free throw line down the stretch to help the Hawks hang on for the 77-70 victory.
The Hawks shot 43.3% (26-60) from the floor on the night compared to 39.7% (27-68) shooting from Saint Michael's. Saint Anselm knocked down 6-of-12 triples in the contest led by three makes from Abela. The Purple Knights won the rebounding battle, 43-36, but committed 15 turnovers compared to just 12 for the Hawks.
Saint Anselm returns to action this weekend when they travel to Washington, D.C. for a meeting with the University of the District of Columbia on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
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