Selinsgrove, Pa. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team stopped a two game slide on Saturday evening with a hard fought 55-54 win over Morrisville State to open play at the Pepsi Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Susquehanna. The Knights were led in the game by 18 points from sophomore Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y.).
 
After Morrisville State scored the first five points of the game, the Mount responded by outscoring the Mustangs 11-5 over the final 5:55 of the first period. Rini brought the Mount even at 5-5 at the 3:32 mark of the opening stanza and a Daisha Madden (Baltimore, Md.) triple gave the Knights their largest lead of the period, at 8-5, with 3:32 left.
 
After a Charlotte Walker bucket knotted the at 10-10 for the Mustangs, freshman Elizabeth Limonta (Stewart Manor, N.Y.) gave the Mount an 11-10 lead after 10 minutes with a free-throw in the final minute.
 
Mount Saint Mary fell behind by a point early in the second quarter, but used a 12-3 run to move in front 23-15 on a Megan Kerutis (Merrimack, N.H.) bucket with just over three minutes left before halftime. The Knights would not surrender the lead the rest of the night, but led by just three at the break following a 7-2 stretch to close the half from Morrisville State.
 
Mount Saint Mary shot 40-percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes on Saturday and was led by six points each from Kerutis and Rini. The pair combined for six of the team's 10 made field goals and nine of the squad's 19 rebounds over the first two quarters.
 
The Knights scored nine of the first 11 points of the third period to open a 34-24 lead on a Rini lay-in and opened a 13 point lead, at 39-26, on a pair of Bridget Kelly (Farmington, Conn.) free-throws with just under five minutes left in the frame.
 
Mount Saint Mary maintained the lead throughout the fourth quarter, but after moving in front 45-35 on another Rini conversion with 7:08 left in regulation, saw the Mustangs use a 10-2 run over a three minute stretch late in the period to tie the score at 54-54 with 27 seconds left in regulation time. The Knights got a free-throw from Janae Graham (Orange, Conn.) with five seconds left and survived a three-point attempt in the final second to hold on for their second win of the season.
 
Mount Saint Mary finished the game shooting 41.3-percent from the floor and outscored Morrisville State by six from the free-throw line in the game. Both teams struggled from distance on Saturday, with the Knights going just 1-for-4 from behind the arc and the Mustangs finishing 4-for-18.
 
Rini led all scorers in the game with 18 points, going 8-for-17 from the floor on the day. She grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, including four on the offensive glass, and totaled a blocked shot. Kerutis finished 5-for-10 from the field on her way to 10 points and contributed four rebounds and three steals.
 
Freshman Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.) finished the game with eight points and six boards with Madden closing the day with five points and team-high five assists. Limonta led the Knights with a pair of blocks on the day.
 
Morrisville State, who shot 33.9-percent from the game, was led by 13 points from Haley Kilmartin and got 12 points and a game-high six assists from Jordan Anderson.
 
Saturday's win levels Mount Saint Mary's overall record at 2-2 on the season. The Knights will conclude the Pepsi Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday when they square-off with winner of Saturday night's Susquehanna and Maine-Presque Isle contest at 3:00 p.m.

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