FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – To complete a sweep of the defending Skyline Conference champions, the Mount Saint Mary College women's basketball team defeated Farmingdale State College, 49-45, on Saturday afternoon. The Knights improved to 18-2 overall and to 14-0 inside the Skyline Conference, while the Rams fell to 14-6 overall (10-3 Skyline).

After trailing for the opening thirty minutes, Farmingdale took their first lead of the game as junior Kayla Koch (Kings Park, N.Y.) knocked down back-to-back jumpers to give the Rams a 35-34 advantage with 9:41 remaining in the contest.

Senior Jess Tice (Altamont, N.Y.) responded with a pair of free throws at the 8:41 mark and following a stop at the other end, Tice extended the Mount possession with an offensive rebound. The senior then found junior Amanda Horvers (Kingston, N.Y.) for a three-pointer that extended the lead for the Knights to 39-35.

Later, Farmingdale sophomore Jeanette Zubizarreta (Bay Shore, N.Y.) drained a three-pointer at the 4:04 mark to cut the deficit to 44-41. A scoring drought of two and a half minutes ensued, but as the clock ticked under 90 seconds, it was Mount sophomore Charneice McCullough (Wyandanch, N.Y.) who broke through with a layup, staking the Knights to a five-point lead (46-41) with 1:25 to go. The Rams would not threaten down the stretch, and Mount Saint Mary held on for a 49-45 win.

Despite shooting just 4-of-17 from the field, senior Tice led the Mount with 13 points. The senior also added 14 rebounds, six blocks, and three assists. In addition to her key late-game layup, McCullough connected three times from three and joined Tice at a team-high 13 points. Sophomore Kate Hartnett (Floral Park, N.Y.) tallied six points and 11 rebounds.

For Farmingdale, Koch led the way with 15 points. The five starters for the Rams combined to shoot just 6-of-39 from the field and finished with a total of only 15 points. As a team, Farmingdale posted a field goal percentage of 23.7-percent for the afternoon.

It wasn't a spectacular shooting day for Mount Saint Mary, either, as the Knights connected at 29.4-percent from the field. The visitors also committed 26 turnovers.

Now with an even firmer grasp on first place in the Skyline, Mount Saint Mary returns to action on Tuesday at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Brooklyn.