MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman Sara Ryan (Quincy, Mass.) and sophomore Erin Doherty (Marshfield, Mass.) combined for 34 points off the bench to lead Southern New Hampshire University to a 77-71 women's basketball victory over Post University at the SNHU Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.  The Penmen upped their record to 2-1, while the Eagles are now 1-3 on the season.

Ryan finished with a collegiate-best 20 points, going 6-12 from the floor and 7-8 at the free throw line in 25 minutes of action, while Doherty finished with career highs in points (14) and rebounds (11) in 26 minutes of action.  Sophomore Amra Elezovic (Manchester, N.H.) tallied 11 points and five rebounds, while junior Brooke Springfield (Jaffrey, N.H.) had eight points, seven assists and four rebounds.  Sophomore Bianca Langford (Worcester, Mass.) added eight points and seven rebounds.

Aubrey Latham had a game-high 29 points for Post, going 13-21 from the floor, while Liz Falcigno and Hailey Griffin recorded 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Southern New Hampshire never trailed an opened up a 16-5 lead six minutes into the game following a three-pointer by Springfield.  A 6-0 spurt capped by a Ryan basket with 5:46 to go gave the Penmen their largest lead of the game, 34-21, before the guests crept closer, cutting the lead to five, 41-36, with 1:34 left before halftime on a Falcigno basket.  Springfield's second three-pointer of the half seven seconds before the break gave SNHU a 48-38 halftime advantage.

Post chipped away at the Penmen advantage and a Falcigno free throw with just under nine minutes left made it a four-point cushion for the hosts, 59-55.  A 7-2 spurt capped by back-to-back Langford baskets pushed the lead to nine, 68-59, with 5:57 left.  The Eagles would cut the lead to four twice in the final 1:07, but could get no closer.

Southern New Hampshire shot 45.5% in the first half and 40% for the game while the Post shot 42% for the contest.  Both teams went to the line 17 times, with the Penmen going 12-17 and the Eagles 11-17, but SNHU was 5-16 behind the three-point arc while the guests connected on 2-of-11 from long range.  Southern New Hampshire outrebounded Post 51-40 and had a 17-7 edge in points off turnovers and a commanding 46-4 advantage in bench scoring on the afternoon.

SNHU opens Northeast-10 play on Wednesday night when it hosts Saint Anselm College in a 5:30 Northeast-10 contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.

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