Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College women's basketball team suffered a heart-breaking 71-70 setback to Stonehill College on Wednesday night in Northeast-10 Conference action at the Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in Manchester, N.H.
The Skyhawks' Paige Marshall banked in a three-pointer as time expired to help Stonehill (13-12, 8-11 NE-10) slip past the Hawks (16-8, 12-7 NE-10).
Four players scored in double-figures to lead Saint Anselm led by 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, and three steals from Raquel Johnson (Inglewood, Calif.). Samnell Vonleh (Swampscott, Mass.) just missed a double-double with 13 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks, while Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass.) added 12 points, nine assists, and three steals. Clairee Putnam (Windham, N.H.) scored all 11 of her points in the fourth quarter.
Marshall led all scorers with 17 points and Samantha Hyslip added a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds for Stonehill. Shannon Brown scored 14 points to go with nine rebounds, and Kelly Martin had 12 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
In a back-and-forth first quarter, Candace Andrews scored a three-point play to give the Hawks a 16-12 lead with 4:16 remaining in the opening period. Raquel Johnson extended the lead to 18-12 with a score inside, but the Skyhawks scored the next seven points to take a 19-18 lead with just over a minute to play. Andrews nailed a three and Vonleh converted before the horn could sound to end the period as the Hawks took a 23-19 lead at the end of one.
Vonleh and Kaila Duarte (Dorchester, Mass.) hit back-to-back layups to put the Hawks on top 30-23 and force a Stonehill timeout with six minutes to play in the second quarter. Caitlyn Abela (North Easton, Mass.) extended the lead to 33-25 with a triple, and a Duarte free throw gave the Hawks their largest lead of the game at 36-25. Ali Glennon (Bedford, N.H.) scored the final basket of the half to give the Hawks a 38-29 advantage headed into the break.
Stonehill cut the deficit to only three in the opening five minutes of the third period, using a 10-2 run capped off by a Paige Marshall fast-break layup to pull within three at 42-39 and force a Hawk timeout. Marshall scored again the next time down for the Skyhawks to pull within one, but Raquel Johnson hit a layup to keep it a three point lead at 44-41. Stonehill's Brown and Marshall scored back-to-back baskets to end the third period and give the visitor's a 45-44 edge.
A three-point play from Kelly Martin gave Stonehill their largest lead of the game at 50-46 with 8:22 to play. Clairee Putnam canned her first three of the night to pull within one, and after a Marshall make, she buried another triple to tie the game at 52-all with 6:45 remaining. The lead changed hands several times over the next few minutes, and a pair of Kelly Martin free throws with 1:37 to play gave the Skyhawks a 62-58 lead.
Raquel Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws to get the Hawks back to within two, and Putnam buried her third triple of the quarter to give Saint Anselm a 63-62 lead as the game went into the final minute. Johnson stole the ball on the next Stonehill possession and was fouled, and she hit two free throws to go up by three at 65-62 with 42 seconds left. After another stop by the Hawks, Putnam knocked down a pair of freebies of her own to give the Hawks a 67-62 advantage with 29 seconds to play.
Stonehill started their comeback with a quick basket inside from Samantha Hyslip, and after an offensive foul on the Hawks, Shannon Brown was fouled with her foot on the line and calmly hit two free throws to get the Skyhawks to within one at 67-66 and 15 seconds to play. Stonehill fouled again, this time sending Aliyah Smith (Medford, N.Y.) to the line, and she buried both free throws to make it a 69-66 game.
The Hawks fouled up by three, and Stonehill's Nicole Rojas hit two free throws to keep it a one point game. Smith was fouled on the inbounds pass and missed a pair of free throws, but Johnson chased down the board and was fouled with four seconds to play. Johnson hit the first, but the second rimmed out and the rebound came out to Shannon Brown. Brown pushed the ball ahead to Paige Marshall who pulled up from 25 feet and banked home a three with a hand in her face – the Skyhawks' only triple of the game - to give Stonehill the stunning 71-70 victory.
Saint Anselm shot 44.6% (25-of-56) from the floor and connected on 6-of-10 (60%) three-pointers, while hitting 14-of-19 free throws on the night. Stonehill shot 41.9% (26-of-62) from the floor, but outrebounded the Hawks 41-31 in the game leading to 18 second chance points. Both teams committed 13 turnovers apiece, which the Hawks were able to turn into 15 points off turnovers.
The Hawks will try and snap a two game skid on Saturday when they welcome NE-10 leading Bentley University for a 1:30 p.m. game on Senior Day.
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