Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior Aliyah Smith (Medford, N.Y.) nailed four free throws in the final nine seconds of the game to help Saint Anselm College pull out a 59-54 win over visiting Assumption College on Wednesday night in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at the Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in Manchester, N.H.
The Hawks have won nine-straight games to improve to 16-6 overall and 12-5 in the NE-10. Assumption drops to 13-9 and 9-8 in conference games with the setback. Saint Anselm will try and match the fifth-longest winning-streak in program history (10) on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Saint Michael's College for a 1:30 p.m. matchup with the Purple Knights.
Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) scored a team-high 17 points to go with five rebounds, nine assists, and a pair of blocks, while Samnell Vonleh (Swampscott, Mass.) added 10 points and six rebounds to lead the Hawks. Ali Glennon (Bedford, N.H.) added eight points, with Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.), Caitlyn Abela (North Easton, Mass.), Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) and Smith scoring six points apiece. Duarte posted a game-high eight rebounds and four blocks off the bench.
Assumption was led by 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting from Allison Stoddard. Teneya McLaughlin and Kiera O'Donnell added eight points apiece off the bench.
Jaclyn Storey gave Assumption an early 7-3 lead with a pair of free throws, and the Hawks answered right back with two free throws from Ali Glennon and a jumper from Aliyah Smith to knot the game at 7-7 midway through the first quarter. The Greyhounds eventually built a 14-9 lead after a layup from Kiera O'Donnell, and took a 15-11 lead into the second quarter.
Caitlyn Abela gave the Hawks only their second lead of the game at 16-15 with a triple, and the lead changed hands multiple times until Glennon sandwiched threes around a Storey jumper to put the Hawks on top 24-21. Allison Stoddard tied the game with a three of her own before Kaila Duarte banked home a jumper inside to put the Hawks back on top 26-24.
Back-to-back threes from Teneya McLaughlin and Kelly Conley gave Assumption a 30-26 lead headed into the final minute of play in the period. Candace Andrews nailed a jumper with 46 seconds left in the half, and after a stop on defense; the Hawks took the final possession. Andrews waited until the closing seconds of the quarter to make her move, using a screen and dribbling to her left before banking home a jumper before time expired to tie the game at 30-30 headed into the half.
The Hawks carried the momentum into the second half as two-straight scores from Vonleh followed by another Abela triple gave the Hawks a 37-30 lead with 8:11 to play in the quarter. Anne Marie Idusuyi made it a 41-37 game with 4:27 remaining, but the Hawks answered with an 8-2 run to end the quarter to take their largest advantage of the game at 49-39 headed into the final period.
Assumption chipped away at the lead and a McLaughlin jumper at the 6:07 mark made it a 53-48 game. Raquel Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws to go back up seven, but McLaughlin scored again to keep the Greyhounds within five. Both offenses stalled over the next three minutes of play until a score inside from Allison Stoddard made it a one possession game at 55-52 with 1:12 remaining.
The Greyhounds got a stop, and had to use the entire shot clock to finally get a look at the basket when Jaclyn Storey converted a reverse layup as the shot clock expired to cut the deficit to only one with only 15 seconds to play.
Assumption was forced to foul, and Aliyah Smith stepped to the line and buried a pair of free throws to push the lead back to three with nine seconds remaining. Kelly Carey had a look at a three in the closing seconds, but her shot hit the front of the rim and came out to Smith, who was fouled again. The junior calmly knocked down two more freebies with just over a second to play to help the Hawks hold on for the 59-54 victory.
Saint Anselm shot 39.7% (23-of-58) from the floor on the night, but hit 80% (8-of-10) of their free throws. The Greyhounds mustered only 37.9% (22-of-58) shooting in the setback, while committing only 13 turnovers compared to 15 for the Hawks.
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