Newburgh, N.Y. – Sophomore Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.) posted her seventh double-double of the season and the Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team withstood a furious second half comeback from the United States Merchant Marine Academy to earn a hard fought 55-48 Skyline Conference win at the Kaplan Center Tuesday night.
 
The Knights dominated the first two quarters on Tuesday, shooting nearly 52-percent from the floor and holding the visitors to just 12 points on 5-for 28 shooting. The Mount put 25 points on the board in the first stanza, going 8-for-12 from the floor with a pair of three-point field goals from Janae Graham (Orange, Conn.).
 
The Mount held USMMA to four points in the second frame and did not allow a field goal until the 6:58 mark of the quarter. The Mariners next bucket did not come until the final minute of the period as the Knights took a commanding 39-12 lead into the intermission.
 
Mount Saint Mary went 14-for-27 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, including a 4-for-7 effort from three point range. Graham led the scoring attack with eight points and was one of eight different players to find the scoring column prior to the break. The Knights' defense held USMMA to 17.9-percent shooting over the first two quarters and turned the Mariners over 11 times.
 
After an efficient first half, the Mount came out of the break and went just 5-for-25 from the floor over the final 20 minutes. The Mariners outscored the Mount 17-10 in the third period and used a 16-2 run over nearly seven minutes in the fourth quarter to slash the Mount's lead to 53-45.
 
Mount Saint Mary quickly pushed its lead back to 10 points on a Lyndsay Pace (Cranford, N.J.) lay-in with 93 seconds left to secure the win for the Mount and hold off the Mariners.
 
USMMA shot nearly 38-percent in the second half and hit five three-point field goals. The Knights finished the game shooting at 36.5-percent and outscored the Mariners by 10 in the paint and by 14 off of turnovers.
 
Cleare equaled the game-high with 12 points in the game and grabbed 10 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass. She closed out the contest with a pair of blocked shots and a steal. Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals.
 
Graham and Pace each scored eight points, with Elizabeth Limonta (Stewart Manor, N.Y.) adding six rebounds and Bridget Kelly (Farmington, Conn.) posting three blocks.
 
The Mariners received 12 points and six rebounds from Kaleigh D'Arcy who added three assists and a pair of steals.
 
Tuesday's win pushes Mount Saint Mary to 18-5 overall on the season and to 14-3 in Skyline Conference play. The Knights will finish off the regular season on Saturday with a road contest at St. Joseph's-Brooklyn. Tip-off with the Bears is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.