MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Graduate point guard Dede Stevenson had her best performance of the young season for Post University Women's Basketball, going off for 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including a 3-for-4 effort from three-point range, and four made free throws on six attempts. But a late run by Saint Anselm College in the fourth quarter would doom the Eagles as they fell on the road, 76-74. 

THE BASICS

Post University 74, Saint Anselm College 76 

Post University (1-2)

Saint Anselm College (3-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED
A back-and-forth opening quarter saw junior guard Naj White give the Eagles a 2-0 lead before Saint Anselm went on a 4-0 run with jumpers from junior guard Katie Lemanski and sophomore guard Gina Gaccione. Trailing by three points, 11-8, Post would go on a 9-0 run behind five free throws, including three from graduate guard Amaya Santiago who hit all five of her shots from the charity stripe in the game, to give the Eagles the lead by six, 17-11, and head into the second up 20-15. 

After hitting a basket to end the first quarter, the Hawks would go on an 8-0 run that saw them jump back ahead by a point, 21-20, after fifth-year forward Liv Robles' layup. Back-to-back baskets from Post helped end that stretch and give them a three-point advantage once again, 24-21. The Eagles would lead by as many as five points in the frame, 31-26, before taking a 33-30 lead into the halftime break following a layup from graduate point guard Le'Sandra Turner. 

Overall shooting 7-for-19 from three-point land, Post would utilize two threes from Stevenson along with one of two deep balls on the afternoon from graduate shooting guard Maya Klein to take their largest lead up to that point by seven, 56-49, a margin they would hold onto into the fourth, 58-51. 

With 8:56 remaining in regulation, two made free throws from graduate forward Taina Pagan gave Post what would end up being their largest lead of the afternoon at nine points, 64-55, and seemingly in control of the game. Still leading by eight with 6:52 to go, that would be when Saint Anselm pushed their way back into the game with an 8-1 run behind three points from both junior Melanie Hoyt and sophomore guard Tatum Forbes to trim the deficit to just one. 

The Hawks would take their first lead of the contest since 21-20 with 6:08 left in the first half with 2:28 remaining on Hoyt's layup and extend that lead to four points with another Hoyt jumper moments later, 74-70. Turnovers and missed opportunities in the paint helped keep that four-point advantage in Saint Anselm's favor before Pagan cut it to two with 15 seconds left, but back-to-back made free throws by Lemanski sealed the Eagles' fate as they dropped their second game of the season, 76-74. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

• Two Post University players finished in double figures with Dede Stevenson finishing wtih 21 points and Le'Sandra Turner recording 11 points in the game -- Turner finished 3-for-7 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free throw line
• Melanie Hoyt led Saint Anselm with 21 points while Forbes Tatum was right behind her with 20 points -- Liv Robles chipped in another 15 points on the day for the Hawks
• The Post University bench outscored Saint Anselm College's bench, 29-7 overall and outrebounded them 40-29 in the game 
• Post University had their best shooting game of the season, finishing 42.9% from the floor and 36.8% from three-point range 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University finishes their two-game road trip with a matchup against St. Thomas Aquinas College scheduled for 5:30 PM on Tuesday night. The two teams have met in each of the last two season with the Eagles winning both of those games, 63-56 back during the 2021-22 season and 54-49 during the 2022-23 season. The first meeting between both sides came back in the 2008-09 season, a 54-48 loss for the Eagles at the Spartans.