MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Bianca Langford (Worcester, Mass.) had a career-high 14 points to lead Southern New Hampshire University to a 53-47 Northeast-10 women's basketball victory over Saint Michael's College Saturday afternoon at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Penmen won their fourth straight to improve to 4-1 and 2-0 in the NE-10, while the Purple Knights are now 1-4 and 0-2 in the league.

Langford finished 7-14 from the floor and also grabbed six rebounds and was the lone Penmen in double figures.  Freshman Sara Ryan (Quincy, Mass.) knocked down a pair of three-pointers and finished with eight points, while sophomore Erin Doherty (Marshfield, Mass.) totaled eight points off the bench.

Alexa Long and Makenzie Burud paced Saint Michael's with 12 points apiece.

Southern New Hampshire led wire-to-wire and opened up a 19-6 lead nine minutes into the game following a basket by Doherty.  The Purple knights whittled the lead down to seven, 21-14, with just under five minutes left before halftime on a Burud basket, but the Penmen held the guests off the scoreboard the rest of the half and opened up a 25-14 lead at the break.

Saint Michael's outscored Southern New Hampshire 15-8 over the first five minutes and cut the lead to four, 33-29, on a Cara Deroy basket.  The Purple Knights made it a two-point game, 37-35, with just under nine minutes to go, but 12 unanswered points by the Penmen, eight scored by Ryan, made it 49-35 with 4:33 on the clock.  Saint Michael's made a late push, outscoring the hosts 12-4 the rest of the way, but got no closer than four points.

Southern New Hampshire shot 35.5% for the game and Saint Michael's 35.6%, but the Penmen took eight more trips to the free throw line and went 7-12 while the Purple Knights were just 1-4.  The hosts also held a 41-40 rebounding advantage.

SNHU returns to action Tuesday night when it travels to top-ranked Bentley University for a 5:30 Northeast-10 contest.  The next Penmen home game is slated for Wednesday, December 4 when SNHU welcomes Franklin Pierce University for a 5:30 tilt.

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