COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's basketball team opened Northeast 10 Conference play with an 84-79 loss to undefeated Saint Anselm College on Wednesday in the Ross Sports Center. The Hawks are the lone unbeaten team in the NCAA East Region, and entered the night among 23 in NCAA Division II.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (3-2, 0-1 NE10), Saint Anselm (5-0, 1-0 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Margaret Montplaisir (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth), 23 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 8-for-14 field goals, 2-for-4 three-pointers
• Junior Amber Furch (Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood School), 15 points, 5-for-6 field goals
• Junior Ruby Santos (New Paltz, N.Y./Kent School), 13 points, 8 rebounds (5 offensive), 3 steals, 2 assists
• Junior Jayla Tyler (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central/Saint Rose), 11 points, 3 blocks
• Junior Ashlee Talbot (Dracut, Mass./Dracut), 8 points, 7 rebounds
• Sophomore Kelli Cieplicki (Colchester, Vt./Rice Memorial), 5 rebounds
• Senior Molly Brophy (Greenwich, N.Y./Greenwich Central School), 3 assists, 2 steals

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Tatum Forbes, 29 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 9-for-18 field goals, 10-for-12 free throws
• Junior Meghan Trapper, 17 points, 4-for-6 three-pointers
• Junior Kaitlin McDonough, 14 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks
• Senior Anna Nelson, 13 points, 3-for-6 three-pointers
• Junior Elise McNair, 7 assists

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights held a 16-6 lead in offensive rebounds, parlayed into a 14-1 advantage in second-chance points. Saint Michael's also outscored the Hawks in the paint, 40-26.
• The last three meetings between the teams have now been decided by five points or less.
• Montplaisir scored more than 20 points off the bench for the second straight game, having totaled 29 at Southern Connecticut State University last Tuesday.

THE ACTION

• After Saint Anselm scored the game's first seven points, Montplaisir netted seven in a 15-7 response, putting the Purple Knights ahead by a point at 1:02 of the first quarter.
• Neither team led again by more than three points until Nelson buried a three-pointer at 1:45 of the second frame (38-32), and the visitors headed into halftime ahead by a 41-38 count.
• Trapper's three-point play lifted Saint Anselm to a 47-38 lead at 8:10 of the third stanza before Cieplicki's triple trimmed the deficit to 54-49 by 3:36, but Forbes' basket with 1:40 to go provided the Hawks a 59-49 advantage, the largest of the game for either team.
• Saint Michael's responded with a 10-3 run before creeping within 68-66 on Furch's three-point play at 5:05.
• However, the Hawks forced three missed shots on the next two host possessions before pulling away on the strength of making 16 of 18 free throw tries in a late 2:51 stretch.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday at No. 21 Bentley University, 12 p.m.
• The Falcons' national ranking is according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).