WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior Liv Robles (Wallingford, Conn.) poured home a career-high 22 points on Wednesday, helping the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team defeat Bentley University by a 78-76 margin at the Dana Center.
Saint Anselm (9-10, 5-8 NE10) defeated the Falcons in Waltham for the first time since Jan. 28, 1995, snapping a 29-game losing streak against Bentley (12-7, 9-4 NE10) in its home gymnasium. The Hawks and Falcons have split the last six games in the all-time series.
Junior Gabby Turco (Wildwood, N.J.) led Saint Anselm with 23 points, shooting 7-for-14 from the floor, while posting five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Sophomore Melanie Hoyt (Stamford, N.Y.) checked in with 14 points in just 20 minutes, throwing up a block.
Senior McKenzy Ouellette (West Newfield, Maine) was responsible for 11 points and five assists as the Hawks shot 55.8% from the floor, a season-high total. Saint Anselm, who saw a career-high five helpers from Robles as well, held the edge in rebounding (28-to-25) and posted 13 of the game's 15 points on the fast break.
Saint Anselm trailed by as many as 11 points, 31-20, in the second quarter as the hosts hit on 14 of their first 23 shots. The Hawks responded by outscoring the Falcons by a 36-to-25 margin in the game's next 14-plus minutes, canning four triples and shooting 13-for-18 (72.2%) from the field to bring the game even at 56 through three quarters.
Down by a 63-60 margin with 7:49 to go, Turco fired off the game's next five points to give her team a narrow 65-63 advantage. Trailing by just one point, 70-69, with 3:30 remaining, junior Gia Bramanti (Andover, Mass.) had a wide-open layup for the Hawks that put them ahead for good in the game.
Bentley made several clutch shots down the stretch, including a late triple with 11 seconds remaining that trimmed the Saint Anselm lead to one point. Turco buried one of her two free throws on the ensuing foul and a last-second heave from beyond the arc by Bentley would not fall.
The Hawks made six of their final seven field goals in the victory.
Saint Anselm hits the road for a 1:30 p.m. road contest at Adelphi on Saturday, Jan. 28.
