Daytona Beach, Fla. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team got back into the win column on Tuesday with a hard fought 62-58 overtime victory against Cabrini in its first game of the 2016 Daytona Beach Shootout. Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.) led the Mount with 16 points, while Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y.) posted her third double-double of the season.
 
After falling behind 18-6 after 10 minutes of action, the Knights rallied to outscore the Cavaliers 17-6 in the second frame to pull to within 24-23 at the half. The Knights took their first lead since 2-0 on a Janae Graham (Orange, Conn.) jumper that moved the Knights ahead 21-20 with three minutes left before halftime.
 
Mount Saint Mary moved in front 23-20 on a Megan Kerutis conversion with 1:41 remaining in the first half, but a quick 4-0 spurt to close the half from Cabrini capped by a Gabby JHones bucket in the closing seconds gave the Cavaliers the slim halftime advantage.
 
The Knights were held to 31-percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes and went 0-for-8 from behind the arc. Cabrini shot better than 40-percent and knocked in a pair of triples, both coming in the first period. Rini led the Mount at the break with nine points.
 
The Knights came out of the break and scored the first five points of the third period, capped by a three-point play from Cleare to move in front 28-24. Cabrini rallied with the next five points to pull back in front and would maintain the advantage until a Rini second chance bucket with 3:48 in left in the frame to give the Mount a 37-36 lead. The Knights would lead by as many as four points in the frame after retaking the lead on their way to a 42-40 lead after three quarters.
 
Mount Saint Mary remained in front for the majority of the fourth period and led by as many as four points twice in the final 10 minutes. A pair of Jordyn Hellpap (Hackensack, N.J.) free-throws with 17 seconds left gave the Knights a 52-49 lead, but a triple from Cabrini's Erin Dobbs with seven seconds left knotted things at 52-52. Maite Gritsko (Milford, Conn.) would have a look at the horn for the Knights, but misfired and the game went to the extra session.
 
The Knights fell behind by a two early in the overtime period on a pair of Dobbs free-throws, but grabbed a 56-55 lead on a Kerutis lay-in with just over three minutes remaining in the period. The bucket proved to be the final lead change of the game, as the Knights got a buckets from Cleare and Hellpap in the final two minutes to secure the victory.
 
Cleare finished the game 5-for-11 from the floor and converted six free-throws on her way to the team-high point total. She added eight rebounds and a pair of blocks in the win. Rini led the way with 14 rebounds and chipped in 13 points after going 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
 
In her season debut, Elizabeth Limonta (Stewart Manor, N.Y.) scored eight points, with Kerutis, Hellpap and Graham each adding six points. Hellpap paced the Knights on Tuesday with two assists and a pair of steals.
 
Cabrini received a  game-high 18 points from Dobbs and got 15 points off the bench from Jones. Renee Oliver led the team with seven rebounds and Cassidy Gallagher paced all players with five assists.
 
The Knights finished the game shooting 34.5-percent from the floor and went 1-for-12 from behind the arc. The Mount outscored Cabrini 21-11 from the free-throw line and 12-2 in second chance opportunities.
 
At 8-1 overall on the season, Mount Saint Mary will be back in action Wednesday afternoon when it takes on Babson. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.