Saint Anselm Edges #14 Stonehill, 66-65


Junior Amy Pelletier scored a game-high 18 points for the Skyhawks by hitting 5-of-10 three-pointers. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix)

Jones leads Hawks with 15 points, including winning basket with 1.2 seconds left 

MANCHESTER, N.H. (December 10, 2013) – Senior Briana Jones (White Plains, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) scored a layup with 1.2-seconds remaining in regulation to lift Saint Anselm College to a 66-65 victory over Stonehill College, ranked 14th in this week's USA TODAY Sports Division II poll, in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium tonight.

Jones' up and under move inside capped a Saint Anselm rally from a six point (63-57) deficit over the final 1:50. Stonehill attempted a full court pass after the Jones basket, which was tipped out of bounds by a Saint Anselm defender, giving the Skyhawks another inbounds pass with 0.9-seconds remaining on their own offensive end. An inlet pass by Stonehill senior Mary Louise Dixon (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) inside to junior Tori Faieta (Lynn, Mass./Saint Mary's) was intercepted by Saint Anselm senior Tori Lehr (Cohasset, Mass./Cohasset) to clinch the win.

Jones shared the team lead with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including 1-for-2 from three-point range, canning both free-throw attempts to go with five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Lehr finished with a double-double for the Hawks with ten points and a game-high 13 rebounds with two steals, while freshman Candace Andrews (Boston, Mass./Worcester Academy) posted 15 points, six assists and three boards. Senior Allie Jones (South Kingstown, R.I./South Kingstown) contributed 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting, with eight rebounds, three assists and a steal. Classmate Meg Morrissey (South Kingstown, R.I./South Kingstown) chipped in ten points, five rebounds, four steals, two assists and a pair of blocked shots for the Hawks.


Junior Tori Faieta added 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot for the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix)

Junior Amy Pelletier (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) led Stonehill with a game-high 18 points, connecting on 5-of-10 three-pointers, with three assists and two rebounds. Faieta added 17 points, shooting 8-for-17 from the field, with four rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and steal. Dixon posted 11 points, a team-high nine boards, four assists and a steal, while freshman Kelly Martin (Scituate, Mass./Scituate) chipped in 11 points, aided by 7-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line, five rebounds and two steals.

Saint Anselm shot 40.6-percent (28-for-69) from the field, including 4-for-9 (44.4%) from three-point range, while converting 6-of-9 (66.7%) free-throws for the night. The Hawks finished with a 42-38 rebounding advantage, but Stonehill held a 13-10 edge on second chance points to go with a 16-10 cushion in points off turnovers. Stonehill shot 40-percent (24-for-60) from the field, including 8-for-18 (44.4%) from beyond the arc, while converting 9-of-14 (64.3%) free-throws.

Stonehill used a 13-5 run down the stretch to take a six point lead (63-57) after a layup by Dixon with 2:47 remaining in the second half. Pelletier drained back to back three-pointers for the Skyhawks during that stretch, while Dixon finished with four points. Lehr scored a basket for Saint Anselm and then Faieta gave the Skyhawks another six point advantage (65-59) with 1:50 to go. A Jones layup and three-pointer by Andrews pulled the Hawks within a point (65-64) with 44-seconds to play.

Both teams missed on their next possessions and Dixon was fouled with 11-seconds remaining but missed the front end of the one and one to give Saint Anselm another chance. After a Hawks timeout, Jones worked her way inside for the go-ahead basket with 1.2 remaining.

The game featured 14 ties and 13 lead changes throughout and Saint Anselm held the largest lead of the game with a ten point cushion (38-28) after Jones drilled a three for the first basket by either team in the second half 2:19 in. Stonehill reeled off ten straight points to draw even again (38-38) after a Pelletier three-pointer with 14:55 to play. Neither team led by more than two points until the Skyhawks were able to pull away with the six point lead.

Stonehill (7-3, 4-2 NE-10) is now off until after the New Year when it visits Dowling College for a non-conference matchup on Thursday, January 2, at 5 p.m. The Skyhawks don't return home for over a month when it hosts Pace University at Merkert Gym on Saturday, January 11, at 1:30 p.m. Saint Anselm (7-5, 3-4 NE-10) hosts The College of Saint Rose on Saturday, January 4, at 1:30 p.m.

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