BOX SCORE
RAPID REACTION WITH HEAD COACH KAREN PINKOS

When and Where: December 2, 2015 – Manchester, N.H. (SNHU Fieldhouse)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 67, Assumption College 57
Records: SNHU 7-0 (3-0 Northeast-10), Assumption 5-2 (3-1 Northeast-10)

Freshman Kylie Lorenzen (Holliston, Mass.) scored a team-high 15 points and classmate Brianna Camara (Fall River, Mass.) added a career-best 11 as the Southern New Hampshire University women's basketball team pulled out a hard-earned 67-57 victory against Assumption College on Wednesday evening at the SNHU Fieldhouse. The Penmen remain unbeaten at 7-0, matching their best start to a season since 1988-89.

Lorenzen shot 4-for-6 from field, including a perfect 1-for-1 from long range, and 6-for-8 from the line, while collecting five rebounds. Camara went 2-for-4 from the floor and was 7-for-8 from the stripe, coming up clutch down the stretch in helping the Penmen seal the victory. Sophomore Catherine Stinson (Lynn, Mass.) also netted 11 points (4-7 FG, 1-1 3-FG, 2-2 FT) and grabbed four boards.

Kelly Conley paced the Greyhounds with a game-best 16 points.

Other than a game-opening 3-pointer from Stinson just 23 seconds in, neither team led by more than two in an opening quarter that featured four lead changes and three ties until an Ann Marie Idusuyi layup with 1:28 on the clock put Assumption on top, 14-11. Southern New Hampshire would close the half on a 5-0 run that was capped by a Lorenzen trey with seven seconds left and put the Penmen back in front, 16-14.

That burst at the end of the first stanza wound up as the beginnings of a larger 11-0 stretch that gave SNHU a 22-14 advantage with 4:29 remaining in the half. Assumption would go 7:40 – spanning the two quarters – without scoring a point.

Assumption responded, however, with a 9-0 run – triggered by four straight points from Morgan O'Donnell – to grab a 23-22 lead with 34 ticks on the clock. A bucket in the paint from freshman Aaliyah Paxton (Hainesport, N.J.) would put SNHU back in the lead with 21 seconds remaining, but a Conley 3-pointer as time expired sent the Greyhounds to the locker room with a 26-24 advantage.

A 9-3 run to begin the second half stretched the Assumption lead to its largest of the evening at 35-27 just four minutes into the third quarter. The gap was six about a minute later when a 9-2 streak – with four points from Lorenzen – erased the Greyhound lead and put the hosts up, 40-39, with 2:13 to play in the frame.

The game would then go back-and-forth, with three lead changes and two ties, before a pair of Lorenzen free throws capped the scoring and gave Southern New Hampshire a 44-42 lead at the end of three.

An O'Donnell layup opened the fourth-quarter scoring and knotted the game, but the Penmen hit back with a 13-5 run that included seven points from senior Erin Doherty (Marshfield, Mass.) and opened up a 57-49 lead with 3:38 to play.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Conley and Allison Stoddard would shave the Assumption deficit to just a pair 1:20 later, but Southern New Hampshire clinched the win by closing the contest on a 10-2 run that was powered by six points from Camara.

Junior Sara Ryan (Quincy, Mass.) tallied eight points (3-12 FG, 1-5 3-FG, 1-2 FT), seven rebounds, four assists and four blocks, while Doherty finished with seven points (3-8 FG, 1-1 FT) and six boards. Paxton also posted seven points (3-4 FG, 1-2 FT) to go along with four rebounds. 

Notes:
-Southern New Hampshire outshot Assumption, 41.5 percent (22-53) to 34.4 percent (22-64). The Penmen were just 3-for-10 (30%) from long distance, while the Greyhounds went 6-for-22 (27.3%).
-The Penmen feasted at the line, shooting 20-for-27 (74.1%), while the Greyhounds were just 7 of 12 (58.3%). The discrepancy was even bigger in the second half, where SNHU held an 81 percent (17-21) to 42.9 percent (3-7) advantage.
-Assumption narrowly won the glass (40-37) and the paint (32-30), while Southern New Hampshire turned it over fewer times (16) than its guests (20).

Up Next:
The Penmen are back in action Saturday, Dec. 5 (1:30 p.m.) when they travel to take on Bentley University. The Penmen are back on the home hardwood Wednesday, Dec. 9 (5:30 p.m.) when they play host to Merrimack College on Ugly Sweater Night at the Fieldhouse. Tickets can be purchased HERE or at the box office on the day of the game.

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