MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College women's basketball team posted a 67-63 loss to visiting Le Moyne College on Saturday in Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks drop to 9-7 overall on the year and to 5-4 against Northeast-10 Conference opponents. Le Moyne ups its record to 10-2 on the season, having won eight of the team's first nine games in league play.
Senior Peyton Steinman (Pittsfield, Mass.) and sophomore Gabby Turco (Wildwood, N.J.) each finished with 17 points for Saint Anselm in the loss. Sophomore Alexa Quirolo (New Rochelle, N.Y.) contributed 11 points, making three of her seven shots from beyond the arc, with an eight-point performance from junior McKenzy Ouellette (West Newfield, Maine) off the bench.
Turco finished the game with nine assists, a career-high mark that stands as the most by any Hawks student-athlete in a single game this year. She also led the Hawks with six rebounds and tied for the team lead with two steals.
Saint Anselm led by as many as 11 points in the game, capturing a 21-10 lead late in the first quarter, but Le Moyne powered past the Hawks with 15 of the first half's final 21 points. Despite the late rush by Le Moyne, the Hawks held a two-point lead at the break, 27-25, thanks to late free throws by Turco.
The Dolphins overwhelmed the Hawks to begin the second half, using a 20-8 scoring run to build the team's first 10-point lead of the afternoon. Le Moyne was 8-for-12 from the floor in that span while the Hawks shooters went cold, making just three of the team's 11 shots and only one of those from distance.
Another strong spurt for Le Moyne, this time a 10-4 run to begin the fourth quarter, appeared to put the game out of reach for the hosts. However, the Dolphins let the Hawks back into the game in the final two-plus minutes of regulation.
Trailing by a 63-51 margin with 2:29 left, the Hawks stunned Le Moyne with a late 12-2 run to cut the deficit to two points, 65-63, with 13 ticks left on the scoreboard following a clutch Turco triple. Forced to the line after a Hawks foul, Le Moyne made both free throws with 12 seconds left to create the final score, 67-63.
Erin Fouracre led Le Moyne with 19 points with Emma Brinker producing 16 points with nine rebounds in the winning effort.
Saint Anselm will play on the road in five of its next six games, heading to Saint Rose on Tuesday, Jan. 25 for a 5:30 p.m. showdown in Albany, N.Y.
