RINDGE, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College women's basketball team scored 11 of the game's final 14 points on the way to a 75-69 victory at the FPU Fieldhouse.
Saint Anselm sees its record improve to 6-4 overall and to 2-2 against Northeast-10 Conference opponents. Franklin Pierce dips to 5-4 on the year, falling to 1-2 versus league opponents. The Hawks have now won 10 consecutive games against Franklin Pierce.
Freshman Katie Lemanski (Haymarket, Va.) came up clutch for Saint Anselm, scoring a career-high nine points that included six points in the game's final 2:22. She also hauled in four rebounds, helping the Hawks secure the team edge in rebounding, 37-31.
Senior Peyton Steinman (Pittsfield, Mass.) continued her hot streak on Sunday, putting home a game-high 28 points. In her last three games, Steinman is averaging 34 points and 9.7 rebounds per game – she has scored 102 of her team's 215 points in that time frame.
Sophomore Gabby Turco (Wildwood, N.J.) logged 18 points, giving her double-digit points in each of her 10 career games to date. She also picked up seven rebounds, establishing a career high mark, while trailing Steinman for the team lead by just one carom.
Corey Boilard, in his fifth year at the helm of the Saint Anselm women's basketball team, also picked up his 150th career win as a collegiate head coach. With the Hawks, the New Hampshire native has won 66 out of his 99 games on the Hilltop (.667) after locking down 84 wins at NCAA Division III Johnson & Wales (R.I.).
Saint Anselm opened the game on a 6-0 scoring run and went on to establish a lead of nine points in the final 40 seconds of the opening half. The Hawks led by a 26-18 margin shortly into the second quarter, but pulled away following a Turco triple with 4:30 to go – Saint Anselm scored 12 of the game's next 17 points and, following a late jumper by Franklin Pierce, led by a 40-33 score at the break.
The Hawks were ahead by a 42-33 score shortly into the second half, but a 9-0 run by Franklin Pierce tied the game at 42. To the credit of the Saint Anselm defense, Franklin Pierce did not lead by more than two points the entire game as the Hawks shooters forged a five-point lead, 54-49, into the fourth quarter of play.
Franklin Pierce put home 17 of the game's next 27 points, making seven out of their 12 shots from the floor, to create that game-high lead of two points, but Saint Anselm locked down the win with the strong scoring stretch in the game's final two-plus minutes.
The Ravens held statistical edges in paint points, points off turnovers, second-chance points, fast-break points and bench points. Saint Anselm used a strong rebounding game while making 19 of its 22 free throws, earning a road victory in conference play.
The Hawks will hit the road for back-to-back games against the University of the Sciences and Goldey-Beacom. Saint Anselm will tip with the Devils on Sunday, Dec. 19 at 2 p.m. in Philadelphia.
