COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Anselm College women's basketball team cruised past Saint Michael's College, 68-54, in their first Northeast-10 Conference tilt of the season on Wednesday evening. The Hawks start 1-0 in conference play after handing the first loss of the season to the Purple Knights.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm hosts Post University for their home-opener on Saturday, Nov. 18. The game is slated for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off from Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
Score: Saint Anselm 68, Saint Michael's 54
Records: Saint Anselm 2-1 (1-0 NE10); Saint Michael's 0-1 (0-1 NE10)
Location: Colchester, Vt. (Ross Sports Center)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023
Attendance: 232
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Junior Melanie Hoyt (Stamford, N.Y.) opened the scoring by earning the first five points of the game for the Hawks after making two layups and finishing an and-one play. Saint Anselm would jump ahead 13-6 thanks to sophomore Tatum Forbes (Pawtucket, R.I.) and classmate Harmony Marquez (Rutherford, N.J.), who each added four points apiece. Marquez would hit a jumper shot to put the Hawks up 17-8 at the end of the first quarter.
- A made layup by fifth-year Liv Robles (Wallingford, Conn.) in the opening minute of the second quarter would extend Saint Anselm's lead into double-digits. After Makayla Blake finished a free throw to make it 19-9, both teams struggled to find the basket for the next three minutes.
- Midway through the quarter, the Hawks got their offensive rhythm back, building a 12-5 run featuring six points from Forbes and two made free throws by sophomore Gina Gaccione (Rutherford, N.J.). Robles knocked down the first triple of the game for the Hawks with junior Marta Pons Gomez (Sevilla, Spain) draining a three-pointer to give Saint Anselm a comfortable 35-20 lead heading into halftime.
- The Hawks started the third quarter by generating a 12-2 run highlighted by a pair of buckets from Hoyt and a good three-pointer by Forbes. Robles finished another jump shot at the 4:32 mark to give Saint Anselm a 26-point advantage. Senior Alexa Quirolo (New Rochelle, N.Y.) made her first bucket of the contest with under four minutes left in the quarter to make it 51-27, Hawks. In the final minute of the third quarter, Blake hit a three-pointer for the Purple Knights, but Pons Gomez would answer with a late triple of her own to give Saint Anselm their largest lead of the game at 27 points.
- Saint Michael's got on the attack early in the fourth by hitting three triples in the opening three minutes of play. Hoyt finished a pair of jumpers midway through the quarter to hold a 20-point cushion for the Hawks. The Purple Knights netted the final six points of the game, but Saint Anselm would earn their first NE10 victory by a final score of 68-54.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm finished the game shooting 53.1 percent from the field (26-49) and hitting 55.6 percent beyond the arc (5-9). Saint Michael's converted on just 28.6 percent from the floor (16-56) and went 7-for-18 in three-point attempts.
- The Hawks controlled the free-throw lane on both ends of the court, earning 28-point from the inside the paint and holding a favorable 29-17 margin in defensive rebounds.
- Forbes led the team with 20 points (7-15 FG, 1-4 3-FG, 5-6 FT), her second consecutive 20-plus point game, to go along with six rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal. Hoyt (7-11 FG, 3-3 FT) and Robles (6-13 FG, 2-2 3pt-FG) also ended the night with double-digits in points and combined for 14 rebounds.
- Pons Gomez went two-for-two from behind the arc for six points, while Marquez also tallied six points in the game and led the team with two steals.
- Saint Anselm is now 57-24 in the all-time series against Saint Michael's after defeating the Purple Knights in the opening game of conference play.
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