MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College women's basketball team took down the No. 12-ranked team in NCAA Division II on Saturday, easing past Adelphi University by a 72-61 margin in Northeast-10 Conference play.

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The Panthers, ranked fifth in the country by the D2SIDA National Media Poll and 12th by the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association Coaches' Poll, fall to 16-2 overall on the year while losing just their second game in the NE10.

The Hawks improve to 11-4 overall and to 7-2 against conference foes. Saint Anselm remains undefeated at home (5-0) this season and boast a 23-8 mark across the last three seasons when playing at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.

Senior Shannon Ryan (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) pulled down 20 rebounds and scored 14 points, recording her 13th double-double of the season. Ryan has now converted 619 field goals in her Hawks career, ranking third all-time in team history after passing Linda Dunn (1980-84).

Senior Sara Messler (Durham, N.H.) posted 13 points with nine rebounds and junior Peyton Steinman (Pittsfield, Mass.) scored 21 points with eight rebounds and three assists. Junior Jen Peel (Mansfield, Mass.) handed out four assists in 12 minutes of work while freshman Macy Spinks (Luton, England) picked up 10 points.

Head Coach Corey Boilard, in his third season at Saint Anselm, won his 50th game on the Hilltop. Since joining the team in 2017, the Hawks have enjoyed a combined record of 50-26 (.658) and won the squad's first-ever NCAA Division II East Region Championship in 2018-19.

Saint Anselm poured it on in the first quarter, shooting at an 11-for-21 clip (52.4%) from the floor to open up a 26-13 advantage. The Hawks scored the game's first 14 points as Messler, Ryan, Steinman and Spinks each had a hand in the scoring. Adelphi, on the other hand, was 0-for-8 during that stretch and lost all but two of the game's 12 rebounds.

Adelphi cut the Hawks lead to 14-8 with 2:50 to go in the first quarter, but the Hawks went on a 21-10 scoring run to lead by 17 points, 35-18, with 5:12 left in the first half. It was the Panthers, however, that controlled the second period, outscoring the Hawks by a 19-11 margin to head into halftime down by only five points.

The Panthers tied the game at 37 shortly into the second half, capping a 12-0 stretch with the game-tying trey from Julia Strachan. The Hawks settled down and put the game away over the next six-plus minutes, scoring 14 of the game's next 18 points to rebuild a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Adelphi shrunk the Hawks lead to nine points, 61-52, but Saint Anselm closed the game out with a lead of 11 points over the nationally-ranked Panthers.

Saint Anselm won the rebounding battle, 51-to-47, and also scored 40 points in the paint. Adelphi was led by 11-point performances by Strachan and Katie Murphy.

The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Jan. 22, taking on regionally-ranked New Haven at 5:30 p.m. on the road.