WALTHAM, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College women's basketball team suffered a 92-66 setback to #15 Bentley University on Saturday night in Northeast-10 Conference action at the Dana Center in Waltham, Mass.
Box Score
The Hawks fall to 17-9 and 12-8 in the NE10 with the setback, while the Falcons improve to 23-4 and 19-1 in league games. Saint Anselm wraps up the regular season on Tuesday night when they host Southern New Hampshire University at 5:30 p.m.
Candace Andrews scored a game-high 21 points to go with three rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Kaila Duarte just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Caitlyn Abela added 11 points and Clairee Putnam netted nine of her own.
Bentley was led by a double-double of 20 points and 17 rebounds from Jen Gemma, with Victoria Lux adding a double-double of her own with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Caitlyn Abela scored the game's opening basket with a three-pointer, and back-to-back buckets by Candace Andrews and Kaila Duarte staked the Hawks to a 7-2 lead with 7:44 remaining. Another jumper from Andrews pushed the Saint Anselm lead to 9-4, but the Falcons answered with a 19-6 run to end the first quarter and take a 23-15 advantage into the second period.
Abela ended a 5-1 run by the Falcons to start the period as she knocked down a runner to make it a 28-18 game with 6:02 to play in the second quarter, but a three-point play from Macchi Smith put Bentley back on top 31-18. A 1-for-2 trip at the free throw line from Kaila Duarte cut the deficit to 33-19, and Ali Glennon knocked down a runner to keep it a 35-21 game with 1:24 to play in the half. Michaela Martin would score inside in the closing seconds, but Jen Gemma scored before the final horn to give the Falcons a 39-23 lead at the half.
Kaila Duarte scored the opening points of the second half for the Hawks with a pair of free throws, and Candace Andrews buried a 19-foot jumper from the top of the key with 6:22 to play in the period and the Hawks trailing 50-27. Andrews later scooped home a layup and Clairee Putnam scored five-straight points for the Hawks to make it a 56-34 game with 4:20 remaining.
Two-straight baskets from Andrews trimmed the deficit to 59-38 and she later found Duarte on the fast break to make it a 59-40 game with less than two minutes to play in the third period. Bentley answered with four-straight points, but Ali Glennon finger-rolled a shot in before the final horn to pull the Hawks to 63-42 headed into the final quarter.
Andrews opened the fourth quarter with a jumper and a pair of Duarte free throws made it a 63-46 game with 9:13 remaining. Jen Gemma ended the run with five-straight points for the Falcons, and Abela answered with a triple to keep it a 68-49 game.
The Hawks would get as close as 74-53 following a layup from Andrews, but Bentley stayed in control the rest of the game, handing the Hawks a 92-66 setback.
Saint Anselm shot 38.5% (25-of-65) from the field, 33.3% (4-of-12) from beyond the arc and 63.2% (12-of-19) from the free throw line in the game. Bentley knocked down 51.5% (34-of-66) of their shots, 53.8% (7-of-13) of their threes and 70.8% (17-of-24) of their free throws. Bentley doubled up the Hawks on the board (52-26), but committed 12 turnovers to just nine for Saint Anselm.
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