WORCESTER, Mass. – Sophomore Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) led five scorers in double figures with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team to a monster, 84-72 win at Assumption College on Saturday afternoon at Laska Gymnasium that keeps their postseason hopes alive.
The Hawks win their second straight against an already-playoff-bound team to improve to 9-16 on the season and 7-13 in Northeast-10 play. The Greyhounds, who are currently tied for third in the Northeast Division, drop to 14-11, 9-11 NE-10. Saint Anselm moves into a two-way tie with Saint Michael's College for the fifth and final postseason spot in the Northeast. The Hawks would lose the tiebreaker, as currently situated, and will most likely need a win Tuesday at home against division-leading Stonehill College, as well as a Saint Michael's loss to Merrimack College to punch their ticket.
Saint Anselm matched a season high by shooting 54.2 percent (26-48) from the field, including a season-best 57.1 percent (8-14) from long distance. The Hawks also handed out a season-high 19 assists on 26 baskets.
Duarte matched her career high in scoring as she shot 4 of 7 from the floor and 9 of 10 at the line, while also equaling a career best with four steals. Classmate Caitlyn Abela (No. Easton, Mass.) posted 16 points (4-8 FG, 4-6 3-FG, 4-4 FT) and four rebounds, while fellow sophomore Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) finished with 14 points (6-11 FG, 2-4 FT), a career-high nine assists and a pair of steals. Freshman Ali Glennon (Bedford, N.H.) tallied 13 points (4-8 FG, 2-5 3-FG, 3-6 FT), seven boards and two assists, while junior Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.) added 11 points (5-9 FG, 1-1 3-FG), three rebounds, three steals and two helpers.
Jaclyn Storey led Assumption with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds, while Kelly Carey added 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting from downtown.
Leading, 10-9, just over four minutes into the contest, the Hawks ripped off a 15-2 run – with seven points coming from Duarte – to open up a 25-11 advantage with 10:45 remaining in the opening half.
Nearly two minutes later, the Hawks were inbounding with just one second on the shot clock when Johnson buried a right-wing 3-pointer. Johnson followed with a layup to extend the Saint Anselm lead to a half-high 17 at 32-15 with 8:01 on the clock.
The gap was 16 with just over a minute to play when Carey sank a pair of 3-pointers to slash the Assumption deficit to 42-32 at the half. Saint Anselm shot a season-best 59.3 percent (16-27) in the opening frame and fell one point shy of matching a season-high in first-half scoring. Duarte, Andrews and Johnson combined for 30 of the 42 points as they contributed 11, 10 and nine, respectively.
Glennon and Abela 3-pointers bookended a 7-0 run to begin the second half that stretched the lead to 49-32 less than two minutes in. After Assumption cut it to 13 just over three minutes later, treys from junior Nancy Stablein (Shelton, Conn.) and Abela pushed the lead to 19 at 62-43 with 11:26 left.
Assumption chipped away again, but five straight points from freshman Erin Waters (Pawling, N.Y.) gave Saint Anselm its largest lead of the game at 71-50 with 8:37 left. A pair of 3-pointers from Carey three minutes later fueled a 9-0 run for the Greyhounds that trimmed the deficit to 73-61 with 4:33 on the clock.
Assumption would get as close as 76-65 with 2:56 to play, but the Hawks went 8-for-10 from the line down the stretch to pick up the victory.
Waters chipped in five points in five minutes off the bench, while sophomore Aliyah Smith (Medford, N.Y.) also added five points (1-2 FG, 3-4 FT) and three assists. Stablein finished with three points (1-2 FG, 1-1 3-FG) and three helpers.
In addition to outshooting Assumption, 54.2 percent to 44.3 percent (27-61) from the floor and 57.1 percent to 41.7 percent (10-24) from deep, Saint Anselm also cleaned up at the line as it went 24-for-32 (75%), compared to just 8 of 9 (88.9%) for the Greyhounds. Assumption held a 35-29 advantage on the glass, including 15-8 on the offensive end, but it was the Hawks with an 18-8 gap in second chance points. The paint and assist-to-turnover ratio were both virtually even, but Saint Anselm held an 18-12 edge in points off mistakes.
The Hawks wrap up their regular season Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to Stonehill 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.
