NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Despite two major comebacks in Saturday's contest, the Mount Saint Mary College women's basketball team (2-5) dropped a 64-51 decision to Alfred University (3-5) in non-conference action at the Kaplan Center.
The Knights trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, but rallied back with a 16-2 run to cut the Alfred advantage to just two points in the final minute of the period. Alfred's Harley Cleary heaved a three pointer in the final seconds, and made it to put the Saxons up by five heading into the break.
The second stanza looked much like the first, with Alfred running out to a 14-point lead in the first 10 minutes. The Knights once again dug their feet into the ground and grinded until the deficit was down to five points with more than five minutes to play. The Saxons then buckled down and held the Knights off the board, and made most of their free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 13-point victory.
Alfred's Amanda Off led the Saxons with a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Harley Cleary paced all scorers with 20 points, while Hailey Sick just missed a double-double with nine points and 13 boards.
Sophomore guard
Nicole Scicutella (Massapequa, N.Y.) led the Knights with 13 points thanks to three made three-pointers on the afternoon. Freshman forward
Bridget Kelly (Farmington, Conn.) was a force under the offensive glass, pulling down eight of her team-high 11 rebounds on the offensive side of the court. She also added eight points and led the Knights with three steals and two blocks. Sophomore guard
Marisa Delzio (Brewster, N.Y.) dished out a game-high eight assists and added six boards.
The Saxons shot 39.2 percent (20-of-51) on the afternoon, while the Knights hit just 24.4 percent (20-of-82) from the field. The Knights were better in almost every special category, including points in the paint (24-16), second-chance points (17-8) and points off turnovers (23-16).
The Knights will quickly get back to work, as they travel to Newark, N.J. on Monday, Dec. 8 to take on Rutgers-Newark. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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