EASTON, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College women's basketball team posted an 80-61 loss to Stonehill College on Sunday in the Northeast-10 Conference championship game.
Box Score
Competing in the team's first NE10 title game since the 1998-99 season, the Hawks drop to 21-7 on the season. The Hawks, ranked fourth in the most recent East Region poll, will learn its NCAA Division II tournament fate on Sunday evening via the NCAA.com selection show that will begin at 10 p.m.
Senior Shannon Ryan (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) scored 22 points with 13 rebounds for Saint Anselm and was joined on the NE10 All-Championship Team by junior Peyton Steinman (Pittsfield, Mass.). The third-year Hawks guard recorded 18 points with six rebounds, two blocks and two assists.
Senior Sara Messler (Durham, N.H.) had six points and five rebounds for the Hawks, setting the program record for career games played on Sunday, playing in her 118th career game on the Hilltop. Kathleen Shippee '95 and Katie Qualter '97 were the previous record-holders, seeing action in 117 games in their Hilltop careers.
Across three NE10 postseason games, Ryan averaged 24 points and 16.3 rebounds per game, producing 35 points with 19 rebounds at No. 8 Adelphi in the NE10 Semifinals on Thursday. Steinman produced 18.7 points and six rebounds, never finishing with less than 18 points for the Hawks.
The Hawks opened up a seven point lead only seven minutes into the game, but Stonehill, ranked 25th in NCAA Division II in both the national coaches and media polls, forged ahead with a dominant 31-8 scoring run. Saint Anselm committed 11 first-half turnovers as the Skyhawks headed into halftime with a 41-25 lead, shooting 50% while keeping the Hawks to just 10 made field goals on 27 attempts.
Stonehill slightly outscored the Hawks in the second half, 39-36, but the big second quarter for the hosts was the difference-maker in the game. The Skyhawks maintained at least a 16-point lead throughout the remaining 20 minutes of the game, capturing the program's first NE10 title since 2008.
Stonehill was led by tournament Most Outstanding Player Kayla Raymond, who posted 17 points with seven rebounds. The Skyhawks threw up 10 blocks in the game and also held statistical advantages over Saint Anselm in field goal percentage (50.9%-to-42.6%), three-pointers made (10-to-5), assists (19-to-12) and points off turnovers (15-to-9).
