Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team picked up its third straight win with an 86-62 home triumph over St. Joseph's-Brooklyn Wednesday night. Freshman Katie Smith (Goshen, N.Y.) matched her career-high with 17 points, while senior Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y.) posted a double-double, including a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
The Knights found themselves down by five points in the early going on Wednesday and would trail throughout the first period, until a Rini jumper tied the score at 21-21 with 2:19 left. The Knights grabbed their first lead on an Elizabeth Limonta (Stewart Manor, N.Y.) bucket with 1:40 left in the opening frame, but the visitors used a Kellie O'Neill triple in the closing seconds to grab a 27-26 lead after 10 minutes.
 
After surrendering 27 first quarter points, the Mount held St. Joseph's to just 12 in the second frame and continued its high scoring with 30 points heading into halftime. After a Victoria Porcasi bucket that tied the score at 31-31 early in the second frame, the Mount put together an 11-0 run to jump in front for good in the game. Smith keyed the run with five points, with Jordyn Hellpap (Hackensack, N.J.) hitting a three-pointer and Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.) completing a three-point play.
 
St. Joseph's battled back to within five points on a Kelly O'Donnell three-pointer, but the Knights answered with a 14-2 run to close the half and carry a 56-39 lead into the intermission. Smith again played a big role in the Mount run with a pair of three-pointers.
 
Both teams shot an even 50-percent from the floor before halftime, but the Knights made nine more baskets in building the lead. The Bears hit eight first half three-pointers, with O'Donnell going 4-for-6 from behind the arc on her way to 16 points. The Knights were led by 13 points from Smith at the break, with Cleare and Rini adding 11 and 10, respectively.
 
Mount Saint Mary quickly spread its lead to 21 points on a Cleare transition bucket early in the third period and did not let St. Joseph's closer than 18 points the rest of the night. The lead grew to a game-high 29 points on a Morina Bojka (Prospect, Conn.) three-pointer with 5:29 left in regulation time.
 
The Knights finished with a season-high 86 points in the game, shooting 41.9-percent overall, and committed a season-low six turnovers. The Mount knocked down seven three-pointers and held the convincing advantage in paint points 40-16, second chance points 29-10 and points off turnovers 21-2.
 
Smith reached double-figures for the fourth straight game, going 7-for-10 from the floor, including three triples, to go along with six assists and three steals. Rini led all players with 10 rebounds and contributed 14 points and pair of assists.
 
Cleare rounded out the win with 13 points, eight rebounds and a blocked shot, while Limonta came off the bench to provide 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Janae Graham (Orange, Conn.) totaled eight points for the Mount and three steals.
 
St. Joseph's was led by a game-high 20 points from O'Donnell, who finished with five three-pointers and received five assists and pair of steals from Deserae Sequeira.
 
At 9-5 overall and 7-1 in league play, Mount Saint Mary plays its second straight home game on Saturday afternoon when it welcomes Sarah Lawrence to the Kaplan Center. Tip-off with the Gryphons is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.