MANCHESTER, N.H. – Despite a strong first half performance, the Saint Anselm College women's basketball team could not hold on and ultimately fell, 69-67, to the University of New Haven on Wednesday night. Junior
Melanie Hoyt (Stamford, N.Y.) scored 25 points on 73-percent shooting in the loss.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is on the road for the final two contests of the regular season, first against American International College in Springfield, Mass. on Saturday, February 24th followed by the regular season finale against Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y. on Tuesday, February 27th.
Score: Saint Anselm 67, New Haven 69
Records: Saint Anselm 9-17 (6-14 NE10), New Haven 8-16 (4-16 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Attendance: 79
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Hoyt got off to a stellar start, making five straight baskets on Saint Anselm's first five possessions of the game to help the Hawks jump out to an early 10-7 lead.
- With 1:26 left in the first quarter, senior Alexa Quirolo (New Rochelle, N.Y.) got in on the scoring with a two-point shot in the paint. The next time down the floor, Hoyt made a layup plus the foul. Her free throw gave the Hawks a six-point advantage.
- After a steal by junior Marta Pons Gomez (Sevilla, Spain), Quirolo knocked down a triple with seconds remaining and Saint Anselm led, 22-15, after one quarter of play.
- In the early going of the second quarter, junior Katie Lemanski (Haymarket, Va.) buried back-to-back threes for Saint Anselm. Following a midrange jumper from Hoyt, sophomore Tatum Forbes (Pawtucket, R.I.) cashed in from deep as well, capping off an 11-0 Hawks run to make it 35-20.
- With under three minutes in the half, fifth-year Liv Robles (Wallingford, Conn.) joined in on the three-point brigade with triples on consecutive possessions, which allowed Saint Anselm to increase their lead to 18 points. One final three-pointer by sophomore Anna Nelson (Gorham, Maine) helped Saint Anselm go into halftime with a 46-27 advantage.
- Hoyt found rhythm again offensively, scoring eight of the Hawks' first 10 points to open the second half. The momentum started to shift after that as the Chargers ripped off a 9-1 run in the final 4:10 of the third quarter to trail by just nine points after three.
- New Haven continued to cut into the Saint Anselm lead to start the fourth. Eveani Okwuosa scored the first seven points of the final period for the Chargers, and a three by Makaela Johnson made it just a three-point game with 6:55 to play.
- Robles helped Saint Anselm push their lead back up to six points after a made layup, but consecutive threes by New Haven's Charlotte Bassett tied the score, 62-62, with 2:58 remaining.
- Aurora Deshaies then made two layups for the Chargers and a free throw by Bassett gave them a three-point lead with 28 seconds on the clock. Forbes stepped up on offense for the Hawks, banking in a three-pointer with 12 seconds left to tie it, 67-67.
- On the final possession of regulation, New Haven's Sabira Ahayeva was open on the baseline and buried a 10-foot jumper at the buzzer to win it for the Chargers.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Both teams shot the ball well in the game. Saint Anselm converted on 27 of their 54 field goal attempts (50.0%), while New Haven made 25 of their 48 shot attempts (52.1%). The Hawks also shot well from three-point range, knocking down eight out of 15 (53.3%) from deep compared to seven out of 17 made threes (41.2%) by the Chargers.
- New Haven went 12 for 18 (66.7%) at the free throw line, while Saint Anselm went five for seven (71.4%).
- Saint Anselm held a slight edge on the glass, out-rebounding New Haven, 29-24. The Chargers held a slight edge in paint points, outscoring the Hawks, 32-20 on the inside.
- Both teams committed 11 turnovers in the game, with the Hawks scoring 17 points and the Chargers scoring 16 points off of those turnovers. Saint Anselm had six steals in the game compared to seven for New Haven.
- Hoyt led the way with 25 points (11-15 FG, 3-3 FT) for the Hawks. Forbes scored 15 points (6-11 FG, 2-2 3PT, 1-2 FT) and grabbed seven rebounds, while Robles added 10 points (4-15 FG, 2-5 3PT) and five boards in the loss.
- Bassett and Deshaies each poured in 18 points for the Chargers.
- This marked the 32nd all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm is now 18-13 overall against New Haven.
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