Saint Anselm Tips Franklin Pierce, 52-51
Ravens cold shooting in the first-half and down the stretch halts two-game win streak
MANCHESTER, N.H. (January 27, 2005) - Saint Anselm College took advantage of a slow Franklin Pierce start and withstood a second-half comeback in posting a 52-51 victory in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium tonight.
Saint Anselm hit 47.8-percent (22-46) of its shots from the field, including 52% (13-25) in the first half. Franklin Pierce finished shooting 37.8% (17-45) from the field on the night after opening the game with a 31.8% (7-22) effort in the opening 20 minutes. The Ravens hit 47.8% (11-23) of their attempts from three-point range for the night, including 6-9 in the second half.
Junior Raenielle Decastro-Cain (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) led Saint Anselm with 14 points, on seven-of-ten shooting from the floor, and four rebounds. Freshman Jessica Morgan (West Lebanon, N.H.) notched a double-double with 12 points and ten rebounds to go with three blocks, while junior Lanna Martin (Calais, Maine/Calais) added 13 points and five boards.
Sophomore Danielle D'Ettorre (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario/St. Mary's) led a trio of Franklin Pierce players with 12 points as she hit 4-of-8 from the field, including 3-4 from three-point range, to go with eight rebounds and three assists. Junior Heather Jacobs (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) registered 12 points and five rebounds, while freshman Josie Lidke (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) hit 4-9 from the field, including 3-4 from three-point range, for 12 points.
Saint Anselm took the early advantage in the game as it held Franklin Pierce to just one basket over a span of over nine minutes during an 11-2 run which turned a one-point (10-9) deficit into an eight-point (20-12) lead with 4:26 to play in the first half. Morgan and Decastro-Cain each scored four points during the rally and Martin drained one of her three first-half three-pointers during the half to spark the stretch.
Sophomore Christina Buckley (Levittown, N.Y./Division Ave) opened the second half with a jumper to give the Hawks a ten-point lead (31-21). Franklin Pierce hit four three-pointers over a four-minute span during a 14-1 run to take its largest lead of the game to that point at three-points (35-32). Ten of the Ravens first 13 field goals in the game came from beyond the arc, including five of their first six in the second half.
Franklin Pierce led by five (41-36) after a driving lay-up from senior CiCi Williams (Boston, Mass./East Boston) with 12:07 to play, but a 10-3 Saint Anselm run put the Hawks up two (46-44) after Morgan canned two free-throws with 4:44 left. D'Ettorre knotted the game at 46-46 with 4:19 left, but the Ravens managed just one field goal (a Jacobs three) the rest of the way and converted just 2-4 free-throw attempts down the stretch.
Franklin Pierce still had two possessions to win the game in the closing seconds, after junior Kate Levane (Port Washington, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy) hit a leaner in the lane with 19-seconds on the clock, but Williams turned the ball over with four seconds left and a desperation three from Jacobs at the buzzer was just off the mark.
Franklin Pierce (10-8, 7-7 NE-10) returns to action on Saturday when it visits Bryant University at 1:30 p.m. Saint Anselm (6-13, 5-10 NE-10) hosts Saint Michael's College on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.