RINDGE, N.H. (December 10, 2016) – Three players scored in double-figures for Saint Anselm College as the Hawks women's basketball team handed Franklin Pierce University a 55-46 loss on Saturday afternoon at the Fieldhouse. The win improves the Hawks to 5-4, 3-4 NE10 and the loss was the Crimson and Grey's eighth of the campaign.

The Ravens tallied 31 points of the bench with teammates Mikayla Deguire (Watervilet, N.Y.) and Cameryn Wilson (Newport News, Va.) scoring 12 points apiece. Wilson led the game with three steals while Deguire snagged three caroms. Sarah Middleton (Barrington, R.I.) had an all-around game with seven points, five assists, two steals and a board.

For the Hawks, Candace Andrews stuffed the stat sheet with a game-best 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. The senior guard added two steals and a block as well. Kaila Duarte matched her teammate with 16 markers and scooped up seven boards with three steals.

FPU struggled to drain shots in the first half as they connected on 29.6% of their field goal attempts. Saint A's made 47.1% of their shot attempts. The second half was a different story as Pierce's defense locked down the Hawks offense and held their players to 25.9% field goal conversion while the hosts drained 48.0% of their shots.

The game remained scoreless through the opening 1:15 of the contest until the Ravens scored the first four points of the game off a Dana Campbell (Merrick, N.Y.) jumper and a Middleton driving layup. This would be the only lead of the game for the hosts as the guests scored 10 consecutive points fueled by Andrews who poured in eight of the 10 markers.

A Mya Mosley (Worcester, Mass.) jumper with 1:08 left in the stanza brought the deficit back to four, 14-10 until Hawks junior guard Ali Glennon knocked down a three at the buzzer that signaled the end of the quarter. Saint Anselm headed into the second quarter ahead by seven, 17-10.

Middleton opened the second quarter by driving the lane and floating the rock into the hoop for an easy two. Andrews answered with a jumper of her own and then Campbell scored two on an elbow jumper. Following Campbell's conversion, the Hawks defense held the Ravens to only three points the rest of the half and used a 20-3 run to take a 22 point, 39-17 lead at the games halfway point.

The Hawks pushed their advantage to a game-high 29 points via a Duarte lay-in with 3:56 left in the third. The Ravens staged a mini-comeback with a 10-2 run over the final minutes to bring their deficit to 21 thanks to a Jemma Thacker (Nairne, South Australia) wing three ball, jumpers by Deguire, Alison Palma (Stamford, Conn.) and a Wilson three-pointer which ended the binge.

The Ravens held some momentum as the new quarter began as the racked up the first six points of the period to make it a 51-36 contest. Two straight jumpers by Andrews and Sara Messler put Saint Anselm back ahead by 19. Degure and Wilson led a 6-0 mini run which forced a Hawk timeout with 2:45 to go as Pierce trailed by 13.

Following the stoppage, FPU scored the final four points including a Deguire bucket as time expired and Saint Anselm hung on for the 55-46 win.

The Ravens return to the hardwood on Saturday when they host no. 15 nationally-ranked Queens (N.Y.) at 3:00 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women's basketball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).