NEWBURGH, NY – Leading by as many as twenty in the second half, the Mount Saint Mary College women's basketball team had to fend off a huge second half surge from the College of Mount Saint Vincent to earn a 59-57 victory in Skyline Conference action on Saturday. The Blue Knights improved to 4-3 overall and to 2-0 in the conference while the Dolphins fell to 3-3 overall and to 2-1 in the conference.
Trailing by seven with just over two and a half minutes to play, Mount Saint Vincent freshman Joelle Denotaris (Verona, N.J.) was fouled while shooting a three-pointer. She drained all three attempts from the line to make the score 56-52. At the other end, Mount Saint Mary junior Meredith Paggi (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) converted one-of-two at the line, and following the miss on the second free throw, the Dolphins pushed the ball the length of the floor. Freshman Ashley Ruiz (Carmel, N.Y.) drained a triple from the left wing to cut the deficit to two (57-55).

On the ensuing possession, Mount Saint Vincent junior Courtney Heesemann (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) forced a turnover near mid-court and had a chance to tie the game with a layup, but her contested shot wouldn't fall. On the next possession for the Blue Knights, Paggi rebounded her own miss and was fouled. She made the first and the second rebounded off a Mount Saint Vincent player and out of bounds. Junior Chrissy Zrowka (Brick, N.J.) then made one-of-two at the line to put the game out of reach. The Dolphins got a last second lay-up to make the final score, 57-55.

Mount Saint Mary dominated the first half, outscoring the Dolphins 34-21 while limiting them to just 23-percent shooting. Paggi had 14 points and 7 rebounds in the first half alone and finished with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Jess Tice (Altamont, N.Y.) also posted a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds. Junior Shannon Sangster (Syracuse, N.Y.) had 8 points and 12 boards.

Mount Saint Vincent was led by 11 points and 9 rebounds by Heesemann and 9 points from Ruiz. The Dolphins limited the Blue Knights to just four field goals in the second half, their defense sparking the comeback attempt.

The Blue Knights struggled mightily from the free throw line, connected on just 19-of-36 attempts (52.8-percent). Mount Saint Mary finished at 30.5-percent shooting from the floor while the Dolphins came in at 27.9-percent.

Mount Saint Mary closes their first semester schedule with a pair of tough road games. The Blue Knights will travel to William Paterson on Saturday, December 13, and then to Baruch on Tuesday, December 15.