Box Score

NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Fourth-seeded Farmingdale State College swarmed in to the Kaplan Center on Thursday evening, limiting Mount Saint Mary College to just 22-percent shooting on its way to a 40-29 victory in the Skyline Conference semifinals.  The Rams (11-12) advance to take on second-seeded Purchase College in Saturday's championship game.

The Knights seemed poised to run away with things in the early going.  From a 5-5 tie, Mount Saint Mary ripped off the next nine points.  A bucket from sophomore Natalie Candarelli (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) at the 9:29 mark made it 14-5, Knights.

Farmingdale sophomore Christina Merrill (Levittown, N.Y.) answered with a three-pointer for the Rams, sparking a 17-2 run for the visitors that would span the remainder of the first half.  A triple from senior Nikita Green (Roosevelt, N.Y.) just in front of the buzzer sent the Rams to the locker room with a 22-16 advantage.

The run continued into the second half as the Rams opened on an 11-2 run.  Merrill's bucket on the fast break at 9:33 made it 33-18, Farmingdale.  Combined with the close of the first half, the Farmingdale run totaled 28-4 and spanned more than 20 minutes of game time.

A fast break layup from senior Charneice McCullough (Wyandanch, N.Y.) at the 3:08 mark capped a 6-0 run for the Knights as they attempted to crawl back into the game.  But the Mount continued to struggle at the offensive end, Farmingdale hit a pair of free throws, and valuable time ticked off the clock.  A three-pointer from sophomore Amanda Smith (Dayton, Ohio) at the 1:01 mark cut the deficit to just eight (37-29), but the Knights would get no closer.

Smith and junior Rachel Perrone (Poughquag, N.Y.) each totaled eight points for the Knights.  The team connected on just 11-of-49 (22.4-percent) from the field and 3-of-18 (16.7-percent) from three while committing 21 turnovers.

Junior Nicky Young (Queens, N.Y.) led Farmingdale with 13 points, while Merrill connected three times from long range to finish with 11 points.  Green had a well-rounded night despite shooting just 1-of-9 from the field.  The senior totaled eight points, seven rebounds, four assists, and seven steals.