Newburgh, N.Y. – Junior Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y.) led all scorers with 18 points and freshman Lyndsay Pace (Cranford, N.J.) netted a career-high 11 points as the Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team outscored visiting College of Mount Saint Vincent 70-49 on Saturday afternoon. The win, the Mount's 16^th of the season, gives it the most victories in a season since posting 18 during the 2012-13 campaign.
 
In a tightly contested first quarter, the Knights did not lead until a Jordyn Hellpap (Hackensack, N.J.) three-pointer pushed them in front 9-7 with 4:17 left in the frame. The Mount pushed its first period lead to as many as four on two occasions, before Mount Saint Vincent scored the final five points of the stanza, including a Kelly Nola conversion at the horn to take a 17-16 lead after 10 minutes of action.
 
Mount Saint Mary regained the lead on a Rini bucket in the opening seconds of the second quarter and held the advantage until a Kelly Oliver triple for the Dolphins tied the score at 23-23with 7:23 remaining before halftime.
 
Following a Dez Brown bucket that moved the visitors in front 27-25, the Knights ended the first half on a 13-0 run to carry a 38-27 lead into the break. Brown's jumper with 5:24 left in the second stanza was Mount Saint Vincent's final field goal of the half as the Mount turned the Dolphins over four times and held them to 0-for-5 shooting. Cleare scored six points for the Knights over the run as they went 4-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line to build the halftime lead.
 
Mount Saint Mary converted at 48-percent overall before halftime and went 3-for-5 from three-point range. The Knights' defense held the visitors to 32.4-percent shooting overall and a 16.7-percent effort from behind the arc. Hellpap led all scorers at the break with nine points for the Knights.
 
Mount Saint Mary maintained a double-figure lead throughout the second half and pulled in front by 21 points on an Elizabeth Limonta (Stewart Manor, N.Y.) bucket midway through the third quarter and later jumped in front 61-34 on a Taylor Whiffen (Wading River, N.Y.) three-pointer with 2:37 left in the third period.
 
The Knights outscored Mount Saint Vincent 25-14 in the third period, shooting nearly 53-percent in the quarter and knocking in three triples. Rini scored 10 points in the quarter and the Whiffen triple gave the Knights their largest lead of the afternoon.
 
Mount Saint Vincent climbed back to within 14 points on a Kaitlyn McGeown conversion early in the fourth period, but the Mount Saint Mary defense did not allow a field goal the rest of the way after allowing the first eight points of the period.
 
The Knights finished the game shooting 46.2-percent overall and equaled its most three-pointers in a game this season, knocking in six triples and shooting 54.5-percent from bonus distance. The Knight defense held Mount Saint Vincent to 30.6-percent shooting and turned the Dolphins over 19 times leading to 23 points off of miscues.
 
Rini finished the game 9-for-17 from the floor on her way to the game-high point total. She added four rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal to her scoring output. Hellpap finished with 12 points and led the Knights with four assists.
 
Pace reached double-figures in scoring for the first time in her career after going 3-for-7 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers. She added three rebounds, three assists as well as a team and career-high three steals.
 
Limonta finished off a solid day off the bench with nine points and five rebounds, while Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.) joined Bridget Kelly (Farmington, Conn.) with a team-high six rebounds to go along with eight points.
 
Saturday's win, the Mount's fourth straight, pushes it to 16-4 overall on the season and to 12-2 in conference play. The Knights will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Old Westbury. Tip-off with the Panthers is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.