MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm women's basketball team stumped the undefeated Southern Connecticut Owls by a 67-63 final score in Wednesday evening as senior Melanie Hoyt (Stamford, N.Y.) scored her 1,000^th point.
UP NEXT: 

• Saint Anselm returns to the road for another New York trip, taking on Northeast-10 opponent Adelphi on Saturday December 14^th with a 1:30PM tipoff.

Score: Saint Anselm 66, Southern Connecticut St. 57
Records: Saint Anselm (6-2, 4-0 NE10), Southern Connecticut St. (7-1, 3-1 NE10) 
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
Date: Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Attendance: 154
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Southern Connecticut State showed their up-tempo and high pressure to open the first quarter as they would secure the first bucket of the game off of a Katie Williamson pull up jumper. Senior Melanie Hoyt (Stamford, N.Y.) would kickstart the Saint Anselm scoring, with a strong post move off an offensive rebound. Freshman Addisen Sulikowski (Saco, Maine) would go on her own five point run to give the Hawks an early 7-4 advantage. A deep triple for the Owls would keep the game close through the end of the first period, but not before Hoyt would step in and score her 1,000^th career point from the charity stripe.
• The Hawks would open the second quarter with a Tatum Forbes (Pawtucket, R.I.) driving lay-up, and begin to apply their own full court pressure. The two teams would battle back and forth with physical play on both ends of the court. Elise MacNair (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) would have a takeover in the period of play, earning two trips to the free throw line off of nice off-ball cutting. Saint Anselm would end the half on a run, as Anna Nelson (Gorham, Maine) would dial in a shot from deep and then secure a fast break lay-up. The Hawks would go into halftime with a six-point lead.
• Saint Anselm would continue their aggressive play into the second half, scoring the first bucket off a back to the basket post move from Hoyt. The Owls would score back-to-back buckets, but their run would be cut short from another MacNair driving score. The Hawks would find themselves with an 11-point advantage as Hoyt would make a turnaround jumper just outside of the paint. The lead would stand going into the final period of play.
• The final 10-minutes of play would begin on the same foot as the end of the fourth as Hoyt continued to dominate her paint presence. The Owls would not lay down as they continued to increase their full court pressure. Southern Connecticut State would force turnovers in the back court for the Hawks and capitalize off of them. With 2:55 left to play the Owls would bring the score within three as Katie Williamson would knock down a free throw. Forbes and Hoyt would respond for the Hawks, finding back-to-back up-tempo buckets. With 38 seconds remaining in the game a pair of free throws from Hope Fox would allow the Owls to be within one possession. A timeout and set play for the Hawks would run the clock down to ten seconds, but a final steal from Hoyt would seal the victory for the Hawks.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Hoyt (9-19 FG, 3-6 FT) continued her impressive season scoring a team-high 21 points to go along with 15 rebounds and two assists, as well as scoring her 1,000^th career point. Sulikowski (5-12 FG, 3-9 3PT, 1-2 FT) followed tallying 14 points, 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
• On the passing front the Hawks dished out 19 assists, as Lemanski and Marta Pons Gomez (Sevilla, Spain) owned eight of them together.
• Saint Anselm edged Southern Connecticut on the boards, 40-37. The Owls registered 13 turnovers while the Hawks tallied 16 on the evening.

 
STAY CONNECTED:

• For the latest on Saint Anselm College Athletics, follow the Hawks via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.