Newburgh, N.Y. – Senior Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y.) scored her 1,000^th career point midway through the fourth period and led three Knights in double-figures with 19 points as the Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team won its eighth straight game with a hard fought 66-57 home win over the College of Mount Saint Vincent on Tuesday night.
 
After falling behind by four points in the early going, the Mount ripped off a 9-0 run to push in front 13-8 on a Morina Bojka (Prospect, Conn.) jumper with 3:22 left in the opening frame. The Mount would not trail again before halftime and after Mount Saint Vincent knotted the score at 17-17 early in the second period, the Knights put together a 9-2 stretch to grab a half-high 26-19 lead with 1:46 left before halftime.
 
The visiting Dolphins scored the final five points of the half in the final 97 seconds of the second quarter, getting a Kelly Oliver three-pointer and a Dez Brown bucket in final 40 seconds to slice the Knights' lead to just 26-24 after 20 minutes.
 
Both team struggled from the floor prior to the intermission, with the Knights shooting 31-percent and the Dolphins converting at 32.1-percent. Mount Saint Vincent knocked in four three-pointers, while the Knights went 0-for-5, but the Mount outscored Mount Saint Vincent 8-2 from the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Coming out of halftime, Mount Saint Mary spread its lead to six points on the strength of two Rini conversions, but the Knights could not pull in front by more than six until late in the fourth period. Mount Saint Vincent battled back to take a 38-37 lead late in the third stanza and opened a 40-37 lead after three frames on a Brown bucket to finish off the scoring in the third quarter.
 
Mount Saint Vincent moved in front 43-39 on a Leah Pinili three-point play early in the final quarter, before the Knights put together a 9-3 run to pull in front for good in the game. Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.) started the run with a pair of free-throws, with Rini surpassing the 1,000 mark on a lay-in with 4:59 left in regulation time.
 
Mount Saint Vincent mounted a final run keyed by a Kelly Nola three-pointer to bring the Dolphins to within two points with 2:53 left to play, but the Knights went 7-for-8 down from the free-throw line down the stretch to secure the win.
 
Rini rebounded from a slow first half to go 6-for-10 after halftime on her way to the team-high point total. She finished the night 9-for-18 from the floor with seven rebounds, becoming the 15^th player at the Mount since the start of the 1991-92 season to reach 1,000 career points.
 
Cleare finished off a strong night with 16 points on the strength of a 10-for-11 effort from the free-throw line to go along with a team-high nine rebounds and three steals. Lyndsay Pace (Cranford, N.J.) came off the bench to net 11 points, going 3-for-3 from behind the arc.
 
Oliver led Mount Saint Vincent with a game-high 21 points, including five triples, with Nola adding 16 points, three assists and three steals.
 
Mount Saint Mary finished the game shooting 40.4-percent overall and outscored the Dolphins 17-7 from the free-throw line. The Knights rounded out the win with a 28-15 edge in points off of turnovers and a commanding 20-2 edge in second chance points.
 
At 14-5 overall and 11-1 in Skyline Conference play, the Knights will travel to Old Westbury for a key conference matchup with the Panthers on Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.