FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Boosted by excellent shooting and stout defense, the Mount Saint Mary College women's basketball advanced to the Skyline Conference championship game with a 73-46 victory over the College of Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday afternoon. The Knights improved to 22-4 overall and will face Farmingdale State College for the championship. 

Mount Saint Mary rushed out to a 15-7 lead on the strength of two three-pointers from sophomore Amanda Horvers (Kingston, N.Y.). The Dolphins stayed close with a pair of three-pointers of their own, one from senior Jill Brady (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) and one from senior Ciara Clarke (Warwick, N.Y.), and trailed 19-15 at the ten minute mark. 

From there, buckets from Mount Saint Mary senior Shannon Sangster (Syracuse, N.Y.) bookended a 7-0 run and the Knights led 26-15 with five minutes remaining in the first half. The Mount would carry a 32-23 lead to the locker room. 

Out of the gates in the second half, Sangster scored six of her team's first ten points and the Mount pushed their advantage to 16 (42-26). Clarke responded with another three at the 14:01 mark to bring the Dolphins back to within 13, but it would be as close as they would get. With a three-pointer, Horvers kicked off a 17-2 run for the Knights that would put the game away. Mount Saint Mary senior Catie Biordi (Beacon, N.Y.) would cap the run with another triple, making the score 61-33 with 7:33 remaining. 

Mount Saint Mary would place three players in double figures, including Sangster, Biordi, and sophomore Natalie Garbie (Bayville, N.J.), all with 12 points. Horvers connected on 3-of-6 attempts from behind the arc and finished with 11 points. Biordi shot 5-of-7 from the floor and Garbie was 6-of-9. 

Brady led the Dolphins with 14 points and hit 4-of-9 attempts from three. Clarke and senior Courtney Heesemann (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) were next with 8 points each. 

The Knights shot 50.0-percent for the contest and possessed a 48-18 edge on the glass. Freshman Kate Hartnett (Floral Park, N.Y.) led all players with 9 boards. Mount Saint Vincent made just six field goals in each half and finished the game at 25.0-percent (12-for-48). Nine of their twelve field goals were three-pointers, but they came on 35 attempts from downtown. 

Mount Saint Mary will take on Farmingdale State College in the championship game on Sunday, February 28. The game is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. in Farmingdale.