Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team saw its 15 game winning streak come to an end on Saturday with a hard fought 53-47 loss to second seeded Old Westbury. Senior Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y.) led the Mount Saint Mary scoring attack with 14 points.
 
The Knights got off to a good start in the contest and opened an early 5-0 lead following three free-throws from Maite Gritsko (Milford, Conn.). The Knights spread its lead to six points on a Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.) bucket midway through the opening period, but a 7-3 spurt by the Panthers to close the frame brought them to within 14-12 after 10 minutes.
 
Mount Saint Mary went without a field goal from the 3:51 mark of the first quarter until a Morina Bojka (Prospect, Conn.) conversion at the 4:36 mark of the second frame and the Panthers surged in front 22-16 with 2:23 left before halftime. The Knights hit just two field goals in the second half, but a Cleare jumper with half a minute left before halftime sliced the Knights' deficit to 22-18.
 
Both teams struggled from the floor in the opening period, with the Mount shooting 23.1-percent and the Panthers converting at only 17.2-percent. Old Westbury hit two triples in the first period and outscored the Knights 10-6 from the free-throw line.
 
Mount Saint Mary never lead in the second half and fell behind 35-25 on a La'Niya Clarke triple with 2:18 left in the third quarter. The Knights battled back to within 36-32 on a Rini jumper late in the period, but the Panthers answered with the first five points of the fourth frame to move their lead back out to 41-32.
 
The Knights clawed their way back to within two points with 12 second left on another Rini jumper, but two free-throws from Old Westbury and a lay-in at the horn sealed the win for the Panthers and gave them their second conference crown in the last two seasons.
 
Mount Saint Mary improved to 47.6-percent shooting after halftime, but made only one three-pointer in the second half. Both teams made eight free-throws after halftime, but the Knights misfired on 10 in the second half.
 
Rini finished the contest 7-for-13 from the floor to go along with seven rebounds and a pair of steals, while Cleare added eight points, five rebounds and two assists. Lyndsay Pace (Cranford, N.J.) came off the bench to produce six points, three rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
Old Westbury was led by a game-high 15 point, 15 rebound double-double from Most Outstanding Player Charlotte Renker and got 14 points from Tori Bellings. Monique Joseph finished off a strong all-around day with eight points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
 
Mount Saint Mary finished the day shooting 34-percent overall and went 1-for-10 from three-point range. Old Westbury shot 23.4-percent, but made four more three-pointers and turned 28 offensive rebounds into a 17-8 advantage in second chance scoring. The Panthers outscored the Knights by four from the free-throw line, with the Mount going only 14-for-28 in the game.
 
Saturday's loss drops Mount Saint Mary to 21-6 overall on the season.