EASTON, Mass. – Leading by two points with 5:39 left in regulation, the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team could not hold off the Skyhawks from Stonehill College on Tuesday, dropping a 62-57 road contest on the Paula Sullivan Court.
Box Score
The Hawks drop to 3-2 on the season, evening their Northeast-10 Conference record at 1-1 while Stonehill improves to 2-1 both on the year and against league foes. Saint Anselm heads to Mercy this Monday, Nov. 27 for a 7 p.m. non-conference tilt.
Sophomore Shannon Ryan scored at least 20 points for the fifth-straight game to begin her Hawks career, notching 21 while leading players from both teams in rebounding (15). Sophomore Sara Messler racked up a career-high 16 points off the bench, making seven of her 10 field goals while securing three caroms.
Neither team had a lead larger than five points through the first half of play as the Skyhawks carried a 34-30 advantage into the break. Saint Anselm trailed by a 19-14 margin before Ryan made back-to-back jumpers for the Hawks to cut their team's deficit to one point, 19-18, with 6:44 left in the second quarter.
Back-to-back triples from freshman Grace Guachione and senior captain Clairee Putnam shot Saint Anselm into the 24-21 lead just over two minutes later. A quick 9-2 scoring run by Stonehill recreated a four-point advantage with 2:46 to go in the first half as Gabrielle Reuter scored seven of her squad's points during that spurt.
Stonehill grabbed the first six points of the third quarter, building a game-high 10 point lead with only 2:01 elapsed on the second half scoreboard. Ryan helped the Hawks by scoring the game's next six points herself as an eight-point run by Saint Anselm would shrink the hosts lead to a manageable 40-38 following a layup from Ali Glennon.
Still trailing with 8:34 left in regulation time, a Ryan jumper preceded a huge three-point basket by Messler with 5:39 to go to lift Saint Anselm ahead, 47-45. Following the big basket, Stonehill took the lead on a three-point play following a Carter Grace layup, but Messler answered the bell again with a go-ahead layup just under a minute later.
Grace one-upped the Hawks with a trey to give her team the lead for good with 3:34 left on the clock. Saint Anselm added a free throw on the next play, but Stonehill clinched the win by scoring the game's next seven points as two turnovers by the Hawks eliminated any chance of a comeback.
Glennon finished the game with eight rebounds and Ryan picked up four steals, leading players from both teams. Putnam rounded out her afternoon with five points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Stonehill had four players score in double figures. Reuter and Samantha Hyslip led the Skyhawks with 12 points with the latter joining Kelsey Shaw with eight rebounds. Elizabeth Grip threw up four blocks in the victory.
