Riverdale, N.Y. - Mount Saint Mary College senior Jackie Markert (Voorheesville, N.Y.) hit a game-winning lay-up with eleven seconds remaining, as the Blue Knights squeaked out a 60-59 victory over the College of Mount Saint Vincent. The victory was the eighth in a row for the Mount who moved to 12-1 overall and 6-0 inside the Skyline Conference. Mount Saint Vincent dropped to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in conference play.

After leading by as many as nine, Mount Saint Mary carried a 30-26 advantage into the half after Mount Saint Vincent closed with the final four points. The Blue Knights opened the second half with a 7-1 run to take a ten point lead with just over eighteen minutes to play. A jumper by MSMC sophomore Shannon Sangster (Syracuse, N.Y.) with 14:57 remaining pushed the lead to eleven, the biggest it would get before the Dolphins would begin chipping away.

With much back-and-forth play for the next eight minutes, the Blue Knights led 54-46 with 6:19 showing on the clock. Dolphins sophomore Courtney Heeseman (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) hit a lay-up to cut the gap to six, and after an missed jumper at the other end, freshman Kerry O'Connor (Bethpage, N.Y.) drilled a three-pointer to bring the Dolphins to within three. Following a Blue Knights turnover, Heeseman hit a pair of free throws to cap a 7-0 run for Mount Saint Vincent and make the score 54-53.

MSMC junior Meredith Paggi (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) ended a two-minute scoring drought with a lay-up at 2:27 to push the lead back to three, but Mount Saint Vincent answered with a jumper at the other end to make the score 56-55. Paggi missed a three-pointer for the Mount, giving the Dolphins a chance to take their first lead of the afternoon. Heeseman put back an offensive rebound with 1:27 remaining to give the Dolphins a one-point advantage.

Markert hit a pair of free throws with thirty-eight seconds to play, but they were answered by two free throws from Mount Saint Vincent's sophomore Karissa Koerner (Bay Shore, N.Y.) with twenty-seven seconds to play. On the ensuing possession, Markert hit the game-winner with eleven seconds left and Mount Saint Vincent was unable to score at the other end, giving the Blue Knights the victory.

Markert finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds. MSMC senior Chantel Anthony (Middletown, N.Y.) led the Blue Knights in scoring with 13 points. Sangster and senior Vanessa Lawson (Kingston, N.Y.) were also in double figures, finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

For Mount Saint Vincent, Heeseman finished with a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Lauren Percodani (Staten Island, N.Y.) scored 11 points and pulled down 8 rebounds, while senior Kaitlin Burud (Red Hook, N.Y.) contributed 10 points.

The Blue Knights finished the game shooting 41.9-percent from the field as compared to only 34.0-percent for Mount Saint Vincent. Both teams struggled from the beyond the arc, with the Mount converting at 20.0-percent and the Dolphins shooting 18.2-percent.

Up next for Mount Saint Mary is a trip to Bard. The Blue Knights will take on the Raptors beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 16 in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. Mount Saint Vincent hosts Bard on Monday, January 14 beginning at 6:00 p.m.