MANCHESTER, N.H. – Three players reached double figures as Southern New Hampshire University remained unbeaten with a 58-56 Northeast-10 women's basketball victory over Saint Anselm College Tuesday night at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Penmen improved to 4-0, their best start since the 1989-90 season, and 2-0 in the NE-10, while the Hawks, who were in the "Others Receiving Votes" category in this week's ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Division II poll, suffered their first loss of the season and are now 5-1 and 1-1 in the league.

Sloane Sorrell (Berwick, Maine) and Megan Smith (Smithfield, Maine) paced a balanced Penmen attack with 11 points apiece.  Sorrell finished 5-7 from the floor and also grabbed seven rebounds, while Smith was 5-10 from the field.  Michelle DeRoma (West Roxbury, Mass.) knocked down a pair of three-pointers and finished with 10 points and four assists, while Christine Duffy (South Boston, Mass.) notched nine points and seven assists.  Victoria Wiseman (Montreal, Quebec) recorded nine points and six rebounds.

Epiphany Smith led all scorers with 24 points for Saint Anselm.  She knocked down six of her 10 three-point attempts and was 8-17 overall.  Megan Howard was the other Hawk in double figures as she tallied 19 points while hauling in 16 rebounds.

Southern New Hampshire trailed 54-51 at the start of overtime but took the lead with 2:21 left on a jumper by DeRoma.  Howard hit a long jumper on the next Hawk possession to give the guests a 56-55 lead, but Duffy converted a layup with 1:52 left to put the Penmen up for good.

With 30 seconds remaining, Duffy missed two at the line, but Saint Anselm turned it over when Duffy came up with a steal with 6.5 seconds remaining.  Duffy would make 1-of-2 at the line to make it 58-56, but the Hawks got the rebound of the second shot for one final possession.  Saint Anselm would again turn it over without a final look at the basket.

In a seesaw second half that saw four ties and six lead changes, Southern New Hampshire, which trailed by as many as seven in the frame, took a 49-46 lead with just over two minutes remaining on a Sorrell basket.  Saint Anselm pulled within one on a Howard basket with 1:10 left and took a 51-49 lead with 29 seconds remaining as Epiphany Smith knocked down her sixth three of the game.  Duffy would convert a driving layup on SNHU's next possession to tie the game.  The Hawks got one final look, but Howard's 18-footer as time expired was off the mark.

Saint Anselm built a 14-7 lead midway through the first half, but Southern New Hampshire used a 13-6 run capped by a Megan Smith basket with just under three minutes left in the period to take a 20-19 lead.  The lead was short-lived, as Epiphany Smith hit a three on the next Hawk possession, and the guests took a 27-23 lead at the break.

Southern New Hampshire shot 48.1% for the contest while limiting the Hawks to 41.5% shooting.  Saint Anselm owned a commanding 39-25 advantage in rebounding, including a 16-9 advantage on the offensive glass that led to 19 second-chance points, but 27 turnovers haunted the visitors, leading to 21 Penmen points.

SNHU returns to action on Sunday when it travels to UMass Lowell for a 2:00 Northeast-10 game.