Box Score
WORCESTER, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College women's basketball team suffered a 62-50 setback on the road at Assumption College on Wednesday night in Northeast-10 Conference action in Worcester, Mass.
The Hawks fall to 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the NE-10, while Assumption improves to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in conference games. The Greyhounds outscored Saint Anselm 21-9 in the third quarter helping propel Assumption to the win.
The opening quarter was a back and forth battle as the lead changed hands four times in the opening 10 minutes of action. Caitlyn Abela (North Easton, Mass.) drilled a three to tie the game at 8-8 with 3:51 to play, and a Samnell Vonleh (Swampscott, Mass.) layup nearly two minutes later staked the Hawks to an 11-10 lead. Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.) and Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) scored back-to-back baskets to end the first period with the Hawks on top 15-10.
Emma Daly (Pearl River, N.Y.) opened the second period with a triple to extend the Saint Anselm lead to eight, and a pair of Andrews free throws kept it that way at the 8:52 mark with the Hawks on top 20-12. Assumption slowly chipped away and a 10-2 run by the Greyhounds tied the score at 24-all with 1:35 remaining in the second period. Assumption took a short-lived two point lead near the end of the half, but an Andrews layup in the closing seconds of the period tied the game at 26-26 headed into the break.
The Greyhounds came out firing to open the second half, rattling off a 9-1 run in the first 3:05 of the stanza to go up 37-27. Back-to-back baskets from Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) and Abela cut the deficit back down to 37-31, but a 10-4 run from Assumption to end the third quarter gave the Greyhounds a 47-35 lead after three quarters of play.
Another three from Abela kept it an eight point game at 50-42, but an 8-0 run from the home team gave the Greyhounds their largest lead of the game at 58-42. Vonleh and Abela both scored to get the Hawks back to within 10 with 1:21 remaining, but Assumption's Kelly Conley hit a pair of free throws in the final minute to help Assumption hang on for the 62-50 victory.
Saint Anselm struggled from the field connecting on only 21-of-59 shots (35.6%) and committed 13 turnovers leading to 19 points for Assumption. The Hawks grabbed 33 rebounds on the night including 14 offensive boards.
Caitlyn Abela led all scorers with 19 points to go with three rebounds and three steals. Candace Andrews added 11 points and three assists, while Samnell Vonleh had eight points and eight rebounds.
Assumption was led by 12 points from Kelly Conley and 11 points from Kelly Carey.
Saint Anselm takes a short break and will return to action on Sunday, December 20 with a non-conference game at Felician scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
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.
