Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team earned a berth in Saturday's Skyline Conference Championship Final on Thursday night with a convincing 57-34 semifinal victory over the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Freshman Katie Smith (Goshen, N.Y.) led the scoring attack with 11 points and the Knights eased to their 15^th straight victory.
 
The Knights never trailed in the game and after a Tichina Carmon free-throw tied the score at 6-6 late in the first period, the Knights used a 9-0 run to close the frame and run out to a 15-6 advantage after 10 minutes of play. Jordyn Hellpap (Hackensack, N.J.) sparked the run with a three-pointer and a pair of free-throws in the final 1:44 of the quarter.
 
The run reached 16-0 early in the second frame and the Knights built their lead to 22-6 on a Kassidy Hallum (Lake Grove, N.Y.) conversion and surged in front by a half-high 24 points on a Smith triple with 1:37 left before halftime that gave the Mount a 35-11 lead. Mount Saint Mary held the Mariners to three field goals in the second stanza, including a Shelby Peters layup that brought the visitors to within 35-13 at the intermission.
 
Mount Saint Mary held USMMA to 17.6-percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes, while converting at 40.6-percent overall and 42.9-percent from three-point range. Senior Bridget Kelly (Farmington, Conn.) led nine different scorers before halftime with seven points.
 
The Knights were never threatened in the second half, spreading its lead to 46-16 on a Smith three-pointer with 5:55 left in the third quarter. The Knights did not allow the visitors closer than 22 points the remainder of the evening.
 
Smith and Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.) both scored in double-figures for the Knights, with Smith going 4-for-8 from the floor including three triples. Cleare chipped in with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting to go along with eight rebounds.
 
Elizabeth Limonta (Stewart Manor, N.Y.) came off the bench to secure a game-high 11 rebounds for the Knights and blocked two shots, while Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y.) blocked three shots and contributed eight points and six rebounds. Hellpap closed a solid all-around night with five points, five rebounds and five assists.
 
Mount Saint Mary finished the game shooting 33.3-percent from the floor and knocked in five of its 12 three-point attempts. The Knights held USMMA to 19.4-percent shooting for the game and outscored the Mariners 18-7 in second chance points.
 
At 21-5 overall, Mount Saint Mary will play host to Old Westbury on Saturday afternoon with a berth into the NCAA Division III Championship on the line. Tip-off with the Panthers at the Kaplan Center is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
 
Game Notes: The Knights advanced to the Championship Final for the first time since 2012 …The Knights held USMMA to 25.1-percent shooting over three meetings this season (43-for-171)…The Knights are in search of their first title since 2012 which closed a stretch of 12 crowns in 13 seasons.