WALTHAM, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College women's basketball team came up short to nationally-ranked No. 16 Bentley University, 65-61, during a mid-week Northeast-10 Conference clash. The Hawks are now 3-3 this season and 1-2 in conference play.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm returns to Stoutenburgh Gymnasium hosting No. 11 Assumption University on Saturday, Dec. 2 for NE10 action. The game is slated for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff.
Score: Saint Anselm 61, Bentley 65
Records: Saint Anselm 3-3 (1-2 NE10); Bentley 5-1 (2-1 NE10)
Location: Waltham, Mass. (Charles A. Dana Center)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023
Attendance: 252
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Hawks took an early 6-0 lead in the game started by a made jumper from junior Melanie Hoyt (Stamford, N.Y.) and finished off with a layup by sophomore Tatum Forbes (Pawtucket, R.I.). Junior Katie Lemanski (Haymarket, Va.) and fifth-year Liv Robles (Wallingford, Conn.) each added a pair of buckets followed shortly by a drained three-point shot from sophomore Marta Pons Gomez (Sevilla, Spain) to put Saint Anselm ahead 13-5. The Falcons built a late 7-2 run, but the Hawks would hold a 19-14 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
- In the second quarter, both teams exchanged points in the opening minutes of play before Bentley strung six consecutive points together to secure their first lead of the game at 24-23. Robles responded by hitting a jumper and Forbes would then tie the score at 27-27 after making another layup. Niya Morgen briefly gave the Falcons a four-point advantage, but Lemanski's layup would once again even the score at 31-31 with about two minutes left in the first half. Amanda Kabantu would make three points for Bentley to take a 34-32 lead heading into halftime.
- Sophomore Gina Gaccione (Rutherford, N.J.) finished her third bucket of the game to open the scoring in the third quarter for the Hawks. Both teams continued to exchange points until Bentley pulled away midway through the quarter by going on a 7-0 run kickstarted by a triple from Ella Thompson. Forbes answered by pouring in six points to make it a three-point game, however, the Falcons would tally five more points to end quarter three up 52-44.
- Hoyt knocked down the first eight points of the fourth quarter along with four rebounds to help narrow Bentley's lead to just four-points. After Thompson hit a three-pointer to extend Bentley's advantage to 63-56, Robles responded by draining a triple followed by a layup from Gaccione to make it 63-61 at the 1:02 mark. With four seconds remaining in the game, Morgen would seal the 65-61 win for Bentley after making both free-throws.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm shot 44.8% (26-58) from the field in comparison to Bentley's 43.3% (26-60) in the game.
- The Falcons went 6-18 from behind the arc while the Hawks only posted two three-point shots during the contest.
- The Hawks made 42-points from the paint and converted 15-points off turnovers.
- The Falcons held a 7-5 edge in steals in the game along with a 5-4 advantage in
- Forbes led the team with 18 points (8-17 FG, 2-3 FT) along with 12 rebounds and a pair of steals. Close behind was Hoyt pouring in 16 points (7-13 FG, 2-2 FT), four rebounds, one assist, and a block.
- Thompson led the Falcons with 19 points in the game to go along with four rebounds and two assists.
- This marked the 95th meeting between these programs with Bentley now 15-80 in the all-time series.
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