Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College women's basketball team wrapped up their non-conference slate of games with a 58-53 win over Bloomfield College on Monday afternoon at the Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in Manchester, N.H.
The Hawks have now won three-straight games for the second time this season to improve to 10-6 overall. It is the first 10-win season for the Hawks since the 2014 campaign, when Saint Anselm went 15-12 and played in the First Round of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament.
Freshman Samnell Vonleh (Swampscott, Mass.) scored a career-high 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting to lead Saint Anselm. Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) added 10 points and five assists, while Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.) just missed her second-straight double-double with nine points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) chipped in eight points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Bloomfield was led by 14 points, five rebounds, and three steals form Tianna Smith, while Chyna Golden posted a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Ariel Wilson chipped in 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the setback.
Both teams struggled in the early going as the two squads combined for 10 turnovers and just 4-of-16 shooting through the first seven minutes of the game. Candace Andrews tied the game at 4-4 with a fast break layup, and the Hawks ended the opening period on an 8-3 run to take a 12-7 lead into the second quarter.
Raquel Johnson staked the Hawks to an 18-11 advantage with 7:18 to play in the period, and a nifty post move from Samnell Vonleh pushed Saint Anselm in front, 22-13. A pair of Aliyah Smith (Medford, N.Y.) free throws kept it a nine point game, and a Caitlyn Abela (North Easton, Mass.) eight-foot hook shot gave Saint Anselm their largest lead of the half at 29-19. Vonleh would score a free throw in the final minute to make it a 30-21 game headed into the intermission.
A sloppy start to the second half let the Bears back in as a layup from Tianna Smith cut the deficit to just 31-27 with 6:35 to play in the period. Ali Glennon (Bedford, N.H.) converted a three-point play to extend the lead back to seven, and a layup from Duarte pushed the advantage back to nine with 4:27 remaining. The Hawk lead would grow to as large as 47-35 following a Smith layup, and the Hawks took a 47-37 advantage into the final quarter.
Another Duarte layup with 5:47 to play in the fourth quarter gave the Hawks a 51-41 lead. Bloomfield made one final push, rattling off a 10-0 run capped off by back-to-back triples from Tianna Smith, to knot the game at 51-all with 2:36 remaining.
Kaila Duarte knocked down a pair of free throws to end the run and a 1-for-2 trip at the line from Raquel Johnson gave the Hawks a 54-51 lead with 1:50 to play. Tianna Smith canned a jumper to cut the deficit back to one at 54-53 headed into the final minute. The Hawks turned the ball over out of a timeout by the Bears, but they turned up the defense to force a pair of misses before Raquel Johnson grabbed a defensive rebound and was fouled.
Johnson calmly knocked down the two freebies and Bloomfield called timeout to advance the ball. Out of the stoppage, the Bears' inbounds pass sailed high and out of bounds, giving the Hawks possession with eight seconds remaining. Saint Anselm got the ball into Caitlyn Abela who was quickly fouled, and the junior nailed both free throws to ice the game and help the Hawks grab the 58-53 win.
Bloomfield won the rebounding battle 32-27 while both teams committed 20 turnovers in the game. Saint Anselm shot 47.7% (21-of-44) from the floor while connecting on 15-of-21 (71.4%) of their free throws.
The Hawks return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to American International College in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup scheduled for 5:30 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.
