STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Knight – season-high 22 points (7-16 FG, 8-9 FT), 13 rebounds, career-high 6 blocks, 3 assists
• Sophomore Meghan Gordon (Attleboro, Mass.) – 17 points (6-11 FG, 2-3 3-FG, 3-5 FT), 6 rebounds
• Graduate student Macy Spinks (Luton, United Kingdom) – season-high 10 points (3-10 FG, 2-5 3-FG, 2-4 FT), 3 rebounds

KEY MOMENTS

• Southern New Hampshire opened the game on an 11-4 run – powered by six points from Gordon – over the initial 5:08, but Southern Connecticut closed the first quarter on a 14-5 swing that gave it an 18-16 lead going to the second quarter.
• After SNHU tied it to begin the second quarter, SCSU scored six straight to go up, 24-18, just over four-and-a-half minutes in. The Penmen would later reel off five-in-a-row, with a 3-pointer from freshman Abby Wager (Mansfield Mass.) giving the hosts a 29-28 lead with just under a minute to play. The Owls converted a layup in the final seconds to take a 30-29 advantage to the break.
• In a third quarter that saw three ties and four lead changes, Southern Connecticut led by as many as four, but would take a 44-42 edge into the final frame.
• The Penmen scored seven of the first 10 points of the fourth quarter, including five from Spinks, to grab a 49-47 lead just over two minutes in. The Owls responded with seven straight to seize their largest lead of the second half at 54-49 with 4:11 to play. The margin was still five 1:18 later when SNHU took advantage of a Southern Connecticut technical foul to swing the momentum and close the game with a 14-0 blitz. Gordon led the way with seven points during the stretch, with Knight adding five.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Graduate student Adriana Timberlake (Braintree, Mass.) posted seven points (3-11 FG, 1-3 FT) and five rebounds.
• Wager registered five points (1-3 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 2-4 FT).
• Senior Julia Colby (So. Paris, Maine) tallied two points (2-2 FT), seven rebounds and three assists.
• Junior Sydnie DeVries (Monson, Mass.) chipped in two points (2-4 FT) and a pair of boards.
• Southern New Hampshire shot 33.9 percent (20-59) from the field, with Southern Connecticut also shooting 33.9 percent (21-62), but SNHU was better from behind the arc, 31.3 percent (5-16) to 23.1 percent (3-13).
• Despite the Penmen being plus-9 from the line, the Owls shot it better, 78.6 percent (11-14) to 64.5 percent (20-31).
• The Penmen narrowly captured the glass (44-42) and the paint (24-22), scored more points off turnovers (9-5), second chance points (13-9) and on the fast break (10-4), and put together a better assist-to-turnover ratio (8/10-7/13). The Owls received more scoring from their bench (21-7).

NOTES

• Southern New Hamphire has won six of its last seven contests, including four straight.
• The Penmen maintain a share of the NE10 lead (8-1) with Bentley University. 
• Southern Connecticut still leads the all-time series, 41-30, but SNHU has won five of the last seven meetings. Though the Penmen have been victorious in three of the last five on their home court, the win snapped a two-game losing skid at the Field House and is SNHU's first win over the Owls there since Jan. 31, 2022 (70-64).
• Knight's double-double is the 18th of her career and fourth of the season.
• After not scoring more than five points over the first nine games, Spinks has netted nine or more in three of the last four and is averaging 7.8 ppg over that span.
• SNHU is now 53-18 (.746) since the start of the 2021-22 season, including 25-10 (.714) at the Stan Spirou Field House.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen return to action Tuesday, Jan. 16 (5:30 p.m.) when they take on the College of Saint Rose.
• The next home contest for SNHU is Wednesday, Jan. 24 (5:30 p.m.) when it plays host to cross-town rival Saint Anselm College at the Stan Spirou Field House in a game that will air live on WGIR 610-AM and Fox Sports New Hampshire 930-AM.