Women's Basketball Wins Third Straight, Downs Saint Anselm
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Megan Shay (Candor, NY) tied her career high with 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Southern New Hampshire University to a 63-58 win over Saint Anselm College in Northeast-10 women’s basketball Tuesday evening. The win, the third straight for the Penmen, evens their record at 3-3 overall and 3-2 in NE-10 play, while the Hawks saw a two-game win streak snapped as they are now 2-4 and 1-4 in the league.
Shay totaled 10 of her 14 points in the first half and drained a pair of three-pointers. Alyssa Whitney (Somerville, MA) finished with 12 points for SNHU, which got also got nine points from Sara Tucker (Red Hook, NY). Kristen Anderson (Hooksett, NH) hit a pair of threes and finished with eight points.
Rachel Reilly led Saint Anselm with 13 points.
Southern New Hampshire led 30-25 at halftime and took its largest lead of the game, 43-33, with 12:23 left on a runner in the lane by Stephanie Houghton (Manchester, NH). The Hawks would chip away at the lead and a free throw by Carleen Orawsky with 3:44 left made it 52-51 in favor of the Penmen.
With the Penmen clinging to a one-point advantage, Brooke Lefort (Cumberland, RI) converted a conventional three-point play with 1:35 left to make it 57-53. Following a basket by Cassaundra Thorpe, the Hawks would pull within one once again with 1:10 left on a Orawsky free throw. Whitney would score on SNHU’s next possession and the Penmen would go 4-4 at the free throw line down the stretch to seal the win.
SNHU trailed just once early in the contest and took the lead for good on an Anderson three-pointer at the 12:34 mark that gave the Penmen a 12-9 lead. The guests took their largest first half lead, 21-14, on a Shay basket with 6:02 left and a Shay trifecta 52 seconds before intermission gave the Penmen a 30-25 halftime lead.
The Penmen outrebounded Saint Anselm 39-28 and shot 50% (9-18) in the second half. The Hawks were 27-32 at the free throw line (84.4%) but shot just 34.9% for the contest.
Southern New Hampshire’s opens a three-game homestand Saturday when it hosts Bryant University in a 1:30 contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.