AMHERST, N.Y. – Junior Shannon Ryan (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) totaled 31 points to lead Saint Anselm College to a 64-56 victory over Daemen College here tonight in non-conference women's basketball action. Saint Anselm, a member of the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10), improved to 9-2 on the year. Daemen, which played its first home game since Nov. 15, dropped to 4-7 following its fourth-straight loss.

The Hawks are ranked seventh in the latest Division II Sports Information Directors Association (D2SIDA) East Region poll. It marked the seventh time over the past eight games that Daemen's opponent has been regionally ranked by the D2SIDA.

Redshirt sophomore Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) paced the Wildcats, as she connected on 7-of-13 shots and equaled her career-high for points with 21. She also contributed four rebounds, two assists and four steals. Sophomore Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) added 10 points and four rebounds, while junior Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.) chipped in 10 points and three assists. Senior Erin Sinnott (Owego, Ill.) chipped in eight points in just 10 minutes off the bench, while freshman Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) netted five points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

Ryan, a 6-foot-4 forward who earned first-team all-conference honors last year, connected on 15-of-17 shots and also also registered three rebounds and a block. Sophomore Peyton Steinman (Pittsfield, Me.) was a perfect 12-for-12 from the charity stripe and finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two steals. Junior Sara Messler (Durham, N.H.) added eight points and six rebounds.

Both teams were coming off long breaks and the time off showed at both ends of the court during the opening quarter, as the teams combined to go 7-for-30 from the field and commit seven turnovers. The game was tied at 3-3 six minutes into the quarter, before the Hawks scored six of the next eight points to take a 9-5 lead. A three-pointer by Filbert with just over a minute left in the frame closed out the first quarter scoring.

Daemen opened the second quarter with a three-pointer from Heinold, but St. Anselm scored the next seven points and the visitors later took a 20-13 lead following a layup by Ryan with 6:11 left before halftime. The Hawks went scoreless for the next four minutes, which allowed the Wildcats to cut the lead to two points, 20-18. The hosts later took a 23-22 lead after sophomore Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, Pa.) went coast-to-coast with 1:35 left before halftime. St. Anselm went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe down the stretch and the visitors took a 26-23 into intermission.

Filbert beat the shot clock with a three-pointer to open the third quarter, but the Hawks got three unanswered layups from Ryan and later took a 37-30 lead following a jumper by Messler with 4:09 left in the frame. The teams traded buckets the rest of the quarter and St. Anselm took a 43-34 lead into the fourth quarter.

The teams continued to trade baskets early in the fourth quarter and the St. Anselm lead was nine points (47-38) when Ryan scored, was fouled and converted the three-point play to give the Hawks a 50-38 lead. Daemen later cut the lead back down to eight points (52-44) following a jumper by White, but Messler answered with a jumper and Ryan added a layup with 4:56 left to give the visitors a 56-44 lead. The lead was 10 points (57-47) with 3:37 left when senior Ashley Briggs (Scarborogh, Me.) hit a huge three-pointer to give the Hawks a 60-47 lead and Daemen came no closer than seven points down the stretch.

Daemen shot 34-percent (21-for-61) from the field overall and made just 5-of-29 from long range. The hosts went 9-for-12 from the charity stripe. St. Anselm connected on 14-of-19 shots after halftime and finished 22-for-44 (50%) overall. The Hawks attempted just seven three-pointers and made two, and converted 18-of-25 from the free throw line. The Hawks finished with a 34-30 edge in total rebounds, and the visitors also posted a commanding 38-18 edge in points in the paint.

The Wildcats close out their non-conference schedule Saturday (Jan. 5) when they host Saint Michael's College.

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