Saint Anselm Falls Short in Overtime, 66-64

Easton, Mass. (December 1) -- On Wednesday night at Merkert Gym, the Saint Anselm women's basketball team dropped a 66-64 overtime final to Stonehill College in Northeast-10 play. The loss drops the Hawks to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in league play. The Hawks led by as many as six points in the second half before the Skyhawks rallied to force overtime.

The two teams played a back-and-forth opening half, trading the lead eight times over the first 20 minutes. The Hawks jumped out to a quick 8-6 lead, led by six early points from sophomore Curran Leighton (Dover, N.H.). The Skyhawks answered back though with the third of four straight three-pointers and took their first lead of the game at 9-8. Stonehill pushed the lead to a 20-15 margin at the 11:15 mark after a layup from freshman Asia Ewing (Westford, Mass.) before the Hawks rallied to regain the lead at 25-24 behind five straight points from Morgan Frame (Waterville, Maine).

Saint Anselm pushed the lead to 31-28 after a three-pointer from junior guard Epiphany Smith (Springdale, Ark.) before Stonehill ended the half with four straight points from Emily Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine) for the 32-31 edge at the break.

In the second half, the Hawks came out on a 9-2 run after a layup by junior Sarah Craft (Lawrence, Kan.), Saint Anselm held its biggest lead of the game at 40-34. Over the next 8:12, the Hawks were held without a field goal and just two points overall as the Skyhawks regained the lead at 45-42 with 9:48 left. Saint Anselm tied the game on a three from Smith and led by a 53-49 margin with 2:56 left in regulation. After a Skyhawk free throw made it a three-point game, Rousseau drove the length of the court for a layup and was fouled, converting the three-point play for the 53-53 score. Neither team found the bottom of the net over the final 2:18 of the game as the Hawks headed to extra time for the first time this season.

In overtime, the Hawks trailed by five early before using a 6-0 run to seize a 59-58 lead with 1:35 left. Rousseau gave Stonehill the lead for good with a three at the 1:15 mark and extended the advantage to 64-59 with 25.8 seconds left. Two Rousseau free throws with 13.1 seconds left sealed the win for the Skyhawks as Stonehill has now won 14 straight games over the Hawks.

Smith led the Hawks with 18 points, along with a 14-point, eight-rebound effort from Leighton. Rousseau paced four Skyhawks in double figures with a 21-point effort, including four three-pointers.

Saint Anselm is back in action on Saturday, December 4 as the Hawks host UMass Lowell for a 1:30 p.m. start at Stoutenburgh Gym. The game is available live online at www.SaintAnselmHawks.tv.