MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Saint Anselm College women's basketball team was tripped up by Southern New Hampshire University on Wednesday evening falling by a final score of 66-55 in Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) action. The Hawks dropped to a 5-7 league record while the Penmen improved to 9-3 in conference play.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm returns to the Hilltop hosting the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College on Saturday, January 27. The NE10 showdown begins at 1:30 p.m. from Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
Score: Saint Anselm 55, Southern N.H. 66
Records: Saint Anselm 8-10 (5-7 NE10); Southern N.H. 11-5 (9-3 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stan Spirou Field House)
Date: Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Attendance: 321
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Both teams had a strong start to the game with junior Melanie Hoyt (Stamford, N.Y.) contributing four of the opening eight points for the Hawks. Sophomore Gina Gaccione (Rutherford, N.J.) finished her second layup of the first quarter to make it 12-10 Penmen with 4:36 left to go. A pair of good free throws followed by a Jess Knight jumper extended the Penmen's lead to six points. Senior Alexa Quirolo (New Rochelle, N.Y.) responded by knocking down a triple off the assist from sophomore Tatum Forbes (Pawtucket, R.I). Southern N.H. ended the quarter going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe to take a 21-15 advantage over the Hawks.
- Shortly after Gaccione finished a driving layup to kick off the scoring in the second quarter, fifth-year Liv Robles (Wallingford, Conn.) drained a three-point for her first points of the evening to cut the Penmen's lead to 24-20. At the 7:02 mark, Knight made a basket to give Southern N.H. a seven-point advantage.
- Saint Anselm's offense soon gained momentum generating a 9-0 run during a four-minute stretch, respectively. Robles kickstarted the run with a turnaround jump shot and featured four points from freshman Kaitlin McDonough (Wilton, N.Y.) to put the Hawks ahead 29-27 with 2:30 remaining in the first half. Despite Saint Anselm's efforts, Penmen headed into halftime with a 31-29 lead thanks to a late triple by Adriana Timberlake.
- Junior Katie Lemanski (Haymarket, Va.) made a driving layup to tie the game at 33-33 early in the third quarter. Following two made free throws from Hoyt to give the Hawks the lead, Southern N.H. then went on a 7-0 run featuring an Abby Wager three-pointer to take back a 40-35 advantage midway through the quarter. Hoyt poured in the next four points for Saint Anselm, pushing her into double-digits with 12 points.
- With under two minutes left in the third, Quirolo finished two free throws and then knocked down her second triple of the game to even the score at 44-44. Macy Spinks answered for the Penmen with a late three-pointer, but Forbes made both free throws with 22 seconds on the clock to narrow the score gap to just two-points.
- Knight started the final quarter of the game by pouring in four more points for Southern N.H. to take a 52-46 lead. After Quirolo finished a jumper off the assist from Hoyt, the Penmen would go on a 9-2 run to extend their advantage to 11 points. Forbes dropped three more points for the Hawks with her jumper and one made free throw attempt, but Meghan Gordon knocked down a triple with exactly two minutes left in the contest. Southern N.H. sealed their win after going 2-for-4 from the free throw line winning by a final score of 66-55.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Southern N.H. shot 40.4 percent from the floor (19-47) and made 6-of-17 attempts (35.3%) from behind the arc. Saint Anselm shot 33.9 percent (21-62) from the field and struggled from long range after going 3-for-15 (20.0%).
- The Penmen held a 42-35 edge in rebounds while the Hawks tallied six total steals in comparison to Southern N.H. with just two steals.
- Saint Anselm scored 30 points in the paint and garnered 18 points off the bench. The Hawks also held a 10-4 advantage in points off turnovers in the contest.
- Hoyt led the Hawks with 14 points (6-15 FG, 2-2 FT) along with two rebounds, one assist, and a block. Quirolo scored a season-high 12 points (4-9 FG, 2-6 3-FG, 2-4 FT) and collected three boards. Lemanski recorded a team-high nine rebounds, including four offensive boards, to go along with five points (2-7 FG, 1-2 FT) and a steal.
- Knight registered the only double-double of the night with 24 points (7-11 FG, 10-12 FT) and 13 rebounds. Timberlake and Gordon also score in the double figures combining for 27 points in the victory.
- This marked the 77th meeting between these two programs, with Saint Anselm now holding a 52-25 record versus Southern N.H. in the all-time series.
STAY CONNECTED:
