It’s March 9, 2020. Here’s what’s been going on lately in Saint Anselm College sports.
Men’s Basketball
Saint Anselm College is the 2019-’20 Northeast-10 Champion after defeating the University of New Haven in overtime, 65-63.
Junior Chris Paul (Highland Mills, N.Y.) finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, capping a Northeast-10 Tournament MVP performance. Freshman Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) pitched in 18 points.
The Hawks overcame a 13-point deficit to force overtime and eventually capture the team’s first NE10 postseason championship since the 2016-17 season.
Saturday’s win marked Saint Anselm’s nine conference championship, providing the Hawks with an automatic bid in the NCAA Division II Tournament where they will face LeMoyne on Sat., March 14.
Women’s Basketball
The women’s team also reached the Northeast-10 finals, but fell 80-61 to Stonehill on Sunday.
Senior Shannon Ryan (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) scored 22 points and 13 rebounds, with junior Peyton Steinman (Pittsfield, Mass.) had 18 points. Senior Sara Messler (Durham, N.H.) played in her 118th game, setting a record previously held by Kathleen Shippee ’95 and Katie Qualter ’97.
The Hawks opened up a seven point lead only seven minutes into the game, but Stonehill, ranked 25th in NCAA Division II in both the national coaches and media polls, forged ahead with a dominant 31-8 scoring run. Saint Anselm committed 11 first-half turnovers as the Skyhawks headed into halftime with a 41-25 lead, shooting 50% while keeping the Hawks to just 10 made field goals on 27 attempts.
Stonehill slightly outscored the Hawks in the second half, 39-36, but the big second quarter for the hosts was the difference-maker in the game. The Skyhawks maintained at least a 16-point lead throughout the remaining 20 minutes of the game, capturing the program’s first NE10 title since 2008.
Saint Anselm will face LeMoyne in the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament on March 13.
Softball
Saint Anselm took two wins on Saturday, the final day of their Florida trip, defeating St. Thomas Aquinas, 5-0 and then Southern Indiana, 2-1.
In the St. Thomas Aquinas win, junior Maddie Leite (Cumberland, R.I.) drove in four runs off three hits, two of which were home runs.
In the second game, senior Shannon Colson (Rochester, N.H.) doubled and scored the game-winning run. Junior Ble Klaiber and sophomore Bailey Cain (Wellington, Fla.) also contributed doubles in the win.
The Hawks return to New England for two weeks off before hosting Adelphi on Saturday, Mar. 21 with first pitch at 1 p.m.
Baseball
One run in the second prevented a shutout in Saint Anselm’s 6-1 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday.
Senior Ryan Schworer (Medfield, Mass.) had 10 strikeouts in seven innings of work while freshman Mike Borrelli (Salisbury, Mass.) led the way at the plate going three-for-four with a double.
The Hawks (6-6) return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 11, heading to New Haven for a 3 p.m. contest against the Chargers.
Women’s Lacrosse
In Davenport, Fla., the Hawks earned a 19-9 win over Saint Thomas Aquinas to climb to 4-0 on the year.
Junior Annie Richards (Reading, Mass.), senior Breda Holland (Londonderry, N.H.) and sophomore Jenna Balboni (Billerica, Mass.) ended the game with hat tricks for the Hawks, Richards also had three assists.
The Hawks begin Northeast-10 Conference play on Wednesday, Mar. 11 when they travel to New Haven at 4 p.m
