Newburgh, N.Y. - In their first game since a 70-68 loss at the buzzer to Farmingdale, the Mount Saint Mary College women's basketball team took out their frustrations on Russell Sage College, earning a 71-21 decision in Skyline Conference action Monday evening. The Blue Knights moved to 14-2 on the year and stayed one game behind Farmingdale in the conference standings with an 8-1 record. The Gators fell to 5-10 overall and 4-5 inside the Skyline.
MSMC senior Vanessa Lawson (Kingston, N.Y.) opened the scoring for the Blue Knights with a three-pointer from the corner just nine seconds in. After senior Lynsee Barnes (Guilderland, N.Y.) answered with a jumper for the Gators, the Blue Knights scored sixteen of the next seventeen points to take a 19-3 lead with 11:32 to play in the first half.
With hounding defense by the Mount and some poor shooting by the Gators, the Blue Knights carried a 34-9 lead at the half time break. Russell Sage connected on only two field-goals for the entire first half.
The second half wasn't much different from the first as the Mount continued to expand their lead throughout the period. The Gators would not score for the final 8:43 of the game and the biggest lead for the Blue Knights came with under a minute to play as a jumper from sophomore Kaitlyn Maglione (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) made the score 71-21.
Lawson finished with 13 points for the Blue Knights, who shot 49.1-percent from the field during the contest. Senior Jackie Markert (Voorheesville, N.Y.) was the only other Mount player in double figures, finishing with 10 points to go along with a team-high 6 rebounds.
Barnes and senior Ashli Fragomeni (Wynantskill, N.Y.) each had 7 points for the Gators. Their shooting woes from the first half carried over into the second stanza and they finished just 6-of-55 from the field in the game (10.9-percent).
The Mount heads back on the road for their next Skyline game, going to Patchogue, N.Y. to take on St. Joseph's-Long Island. The game is scheduled to tip at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 24. Russell Sage also plays on January 24, traveling to Old Westbury for a 7:00 p.m. start.
