Content originally published at SNHUPenmen.com
Junior Kylie Lorenzen (Holliston, Mass.) posted a season- and game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds, but the Southern New Hampshire University women’s basketball team dropped a 63-60 decision to crosstown-rival Saint Anselm College after nearly erasing a 15-point, second-half deficit Wednesday evening at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
Lorenzen was 12-for-18 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the line, while filling out her stat line with four assists, two steals and a block.
Shannon Ryan led the way for Saint Anselm with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, despite being held to her lowest scoring output of the season.
Trailing by 10 with under five minutes remaining, Southern New Hampshire ripped off a 13-4 run – highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from senior Catherine Stinson (Lynn, Mass.) and two layups from Lorenzen – to slash the deficit to just one at 61-60 with under a minute to play. A pair of Ryan free throws made it a three-point game with 12.4 seconds left.
Out of the timeout, SNHU’s first 3-point attempt was no good, but Lorenzen grabbed the board to keep her team alive. The Penmen called another timeout with 3.5 seconds on the clock, but again came up just short on the 3-point try and Saint Anselm escaped with the victory.
Stinson notched six points (2-11 FG, 2-4 3-FG) and five rebounds.
With the score tied, 5-5, with more than two minutes on the clock in the opening quarter, Saint Anselm scored seven straight before senior Jennifer Shelp (Apalachin, N.Y.) dropped in a layup prior to the buzzer to pull the Penmen within 12-7 at the end of one.
The hosts then opened the second stanza with a 7-2 spurt – bookended by Ryan layups – to open a 19-9 advantage with 6:51 remaining before halftime. An 8-3 counter-run – powered by six points from Lorenzen – trimmed the Southern New Hampshire deficit to 22-17 with 2:40 left. Saint Anselm responded with four straight points and would eventually bring a 28-21 lead into the break.
Saint Anselm opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run – with four points each from Ryan and Ali Glennon – to balloon the lead to 36-23 with just over seven minutes to go. Six straight from Lorenzen would make it a seven-point game, but an 11-5 run – with five points from Clairee Putnam – gave the Hawks their largest lead of the night at 49-34 with 1:22 remaining. A bucket from Shelp and 3-pointer from sophomore Victoria Dean (Plymouth, Mass.) trimmed the Southern New Hampshire gap to 49-39 at the end of three.
The Penmen kept it going in the fourth quarter as consecutive triples from Dean and fellow sophomore Molly Terry (Shrewsbury, Mass.) expanded the run to 11-0 and pulled the visitors within 49-45 just over a minute into the final frame. Saint Anselm responded with an 8-2 run – with four points each from Glennon and Peyton Steinman – to run the lead to an even 10 at 57-45 with 5:02 to play.
Shelp chimed in with eight points (3-5 FG, 2-2 FT) and five assists, which matched her career high, while Dean added six points (2-8 FG, 2-7 3-FG) and two helpers. Freshman Sarah Deyo (Attleboro, Mass.), who connected on the 3-pointer that cut it to 61-60, finished with five points (2-11 FG, 1-4 3-FG), five boards and two blocks. Junior Brianna Camara (Fall River, Mass.) tallied three points (1-7 FG, 1-4 3-FG), four rebounds, four steals and two assists.
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