WALTHAM, Mass. – The Saint Anselm women's basketball team battled until the final buzzer on Saturday coming up just short after a pair of late free throws, 60-58, against No. 4 Bentley.
UP NEXT: 

• Saint Anselm hosts NE10 opponent Franklin Pierce on Wednesday January 22^nd with a 5:30PM tipoff in Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.

Score: Saint Anselm 58, No. 4 Bentley 60
Records: Saint Anselm (9-6, 6-4 NE10), No. 4 Bentley (17-1, 9-1 NE10) 
Location: Waltham, Mass. (Waltham Community Weekend & Camp Reunion)
Date: Saturday, January 18, 2025
Attendance: 247
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The first bucket of the first quarter would not fall under 90 seconds into the match-up between the Falcons and Hawks as Anna Nelson (Gorham, Maine) would tab a driving lay-up from teammate Katie Lemanski (Haymarket, Va.). Saint Anselm would go on a 6-0 run as Melanie Hoyt (Stamford, N.Y.) and Addisen Sulikowski (Saco, Maine) would join Nelson on the scoring list. Halfway through the quarter Bentley would look to keep the game close as Brooke Obar would cash in from deep bringing the score to 10-7 Hawks ahead. Saint Anselm responded to the triple going on a 6-2 run off of four points from Hoyt and a bucket from Tatum Forbes (Pawtucket, R.I.). The quarter would come to an end with a Nelson triple for the Hawks and a response jumper from the Falcons leaving the score standing at 19-13 in favor of Saint Anselm.
• The Hawks continued to apply pressure to the home team as Lemanski would check in from behind the arch and nail a triple to open the quarter. Saint Anselm would find their biggest lead of the game with just over seven minutes remaining in the half as another Hoyt lay-up would put them up 26-15. After a forced Bentley timeout, the Falcons found themselves with another made triple as Niya Morgen got on the board from deep, but Hoyt again would keep the distance at ten halfway through the quarter. Hoyt continued to be the most productive Hawk of the quarter as she scored her 15^th point with one minute remaining and allowing the Saint Anselm squad to go into halftime with a 33-25 lead.
• Bentley would open the second half fired up and ready to make a comeback as they would score the opening four points behind an Amanda Kabantu and Kylie Ducharme back-to-back lay-ups. Forbes and Hoyt would combine for buckets to respond for Saint Anselm, but momentum would flip towards Bentley as they would check in two triples and a pair of buckets in the paint to tie the game at 39-a-piece. With two minutes remaining in the period Hoyt would surpass 20-points with a successful trip to the charity stripe keeping the Falcons behind by three. To end the quarter senior Marta Pons Gomez (Sevilla, Spain) would add her name to the score sheet with a floater in the paint and give the Hawks a five-point lead going into the final 10-minutes, 44-39.
• Forbes would open the scoring in the final period of play with a step-back jumper to bring her to double digit scoring. The Falcons would attempt to flip momentum with another triple from Morgen and forcing a turnover with full court pressure. The Hawks would be forced into calling a timeout to stop the bleeding. Coming out of the timeout Sulikowski would force a turnover and help the Hawks extend their lead back to six. Hoyt would repay Sulikowski, feeding her off of a defensive rebound for a HUGE triple putting the Hawks back up by nine with 5:40 left to go in the quarter. The two teams would go scoreless for the next 90 seconds of play before the Falcons would find DuCharme in transition for a lay-up. An exchange of triples from Kabantu and Gomez would keep the game separated by four points with just over two minutes remaining. Forbes would continue to put in with another shifty turn-around jumper, and DuCharme would tab her 11^th point of the afternoon in response. Bentley would call a timeout with one minute remaining and come out of the timeout with another score bringing the game within one point with 55-seconds to go. The Hawks would look to get Hoyt another look in the paint, but the senior would miss just strong. Sulikowski would come flying in for the offensive forcing a Falcon foul. The first year would step up for the Hawks at the free throw line going one-for-two and allowing a two-point lead to be held. A late foul by the Hawks would allow a Bentley trip to the charity stripe, bringing the game within one once again. Another trip to the free throw line would allow the Falcons to take a 59-58 lead with six seconds left to play. One last free throw from Cassidy Yeomans would seal the victory for the home team as Saint Anselm would turn over their last possession of the afternoon.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Hoyt (9-16 FG, 5-7 FT) led the offensive strike on Saturday scoring a team-high, 23 points to go with four rebounds and a pair of assists. Forbes (6-12 FG, 0-1 3PT) scored the next highest with 12 points, to go with 11 rebounds, and four assists.
• Saint Anselm shot 43.4% from the floor going 23-53 attempts, and 36.4% from beyond the arch going 4-11.

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