OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – After trailing 66-62 with just under three minutes remaining, the Mount Saint Mary College women's basketball team (7-9, 2-2 Skyline) scored the final seven points of the game to earn a comeback 69-66 Skyline Conference victory at SUNY College of Old Westbury (8-10, 2-4 Skyline) Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center.
The Knights rallied back to tie the game late in the second half on Saturday, but Old Westbury managed to pull out to a four-point lead with 2:53 to play. Freshman forward
Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y.) then drew a foul and made the first of her two free-throws to get the Knights within three. Rini then blocked a three, and the Knights drew a charge to get the ball back with 1:59 to go. Junior guard
Nicole Scicutella (Massapequa, N.Y.) followed that up with a good jumper to cut the deficit to just one point.
Stellar defense once again got the Knights the ball back with a chance to finally take the lead. Rini delivered with a jumper from outside of the paint to put the Knights up, 67-66. They continued to shut down the Panthers' offense, and made a pair of free throws down the stretch to hold on for the three-point victory and even up their conference record.
Senior forward
Natalie Candarelli (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) turned in a great effort for the Knights, scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Scicutella stepped up off the bench to lead the Knights with 11 boards, adding seven points as well. Senior guard
Lauren Romao (Brick, N.J.) made three three-pointers en route to a 12-point afternoon. Sophomore guard
Marisa Delzio (Brewster, N.Y.) was all over the stat sheet with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Rini, making her first-career start, scored 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Old Westbury's Crystal Barnes picked up a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Jasmine Robinson scored 15 points off the bench for the Panthers, adding four steals to tie teammate Clarissa Gallagher for the game-high. Raven Pentz had a nice game with 13 points, eight boards and six assists.
Saturday's conference matchup featured six tie scores and eight lead changes. Old Westbury led by as many as 11 points, while the Knights' largest lead was eight points. The Knights held a significant edge on the glass, outrebounding their hosts, 64-46.
With a big Skyline win in hand, the Knights look forward to facing off with Purchase College in another conference matchup on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at the Kaplan Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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