Newburgh, N.Y. - The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team returns to action for the first time in over a week as the Knights will travel to defending Skyline champion United States Merchant Marine Academy on Thursday evening before playing host to Purchase on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off with the Mariners is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. while the game at the Kaplan Center with the Panthers is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

At A Glance: The Knights enter Thursday's contest 4-1 overall and 3-0 in Skyline Conference play after non-conference foe Hunter 72-63 on November 26.

Mount Saint Mary's balanced scoring attack is led by junior Morina Bojka (Prospect, Conn.) who is averaging 19.0 points per contest and has added 5.8 rebounds per game. Sophomore Annie Keenan (Nesconset, N.Y.) is averaging a double-double in the early season as she has scored 11.8 points and grabbed 11.2 rebounds per outing.
 
Sophomore Lauren Desrats (Warwick, N.Y.) is second on the team with 13.0 points per game while Senior Lyndsay Pace (Cranford, N.J.) has added 12.6 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per contest.

Pace is the team leader in assists with 16 with Desrats added 15 helpers this season while sophomore Toriana Tabasco (Hillsdale, N.J.) is averaging 6.6 points, 5.8 rebounds per outing and has added 13 assists. Keenan and Pace are tied for team lead in steals with 10 while three players have tallied at least one block so far this season.
 
The Mount has shot 41.8 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from the three-point stripe while scoring 75.8 points per contest. The Knights have limited teams to 34.3 percent shooting and 22.2 percent from three point range while holding teams to just 55.4 points per game.

Last Time Out: Bojka poured in a career-high 29 points and Desrats scored a career-best 22 points as the Mount won its third straight game against non-conference foe Hunter 72-63.

Desrats finished the first half with 12 points on four three-point field goals made and Bojka poured in 11 points. Pace added three assists over the first 20 minutes and Keenan grabbed six rebounds. The Knights shot 43.3 percent from the field in the first half while Hunter shot 32.3 percent and made just two threes compared to the Mount's seven.

Bojka added 18 points in the second half while Desrats chipped in 10 in the half. Keenan grabbed eight rebounds in the period as the Knights shot 48.3 percent in the second half. Hunter's shooting improved to 44.1 percent from the field as neither team could make a three-pointer in the half. 

Bojka's career night finished with 29 points on 10 for 15 shooting and 8-10 at the free throw line and seven rebounds. Desrats added 22 points on 8 for 16 shooting and 4 for 8 from behind the three point arc. Keenan chipped in nine points and 14 rebounds as Pace added nine points, six rebounds and five assists.

Mount Saint Mary finished the game shooting 45.8 percent and made seven threes while the Hawks shot 38.5 percent and made just two threes. Hunter outscored the Knights 38-30 in the paint and 13-10 in points off turnovers.

Scouting USMMA: The Mariners have begun the season 3-1 overall and 0-1 in Skyline Conference action as USMMA fell to Manhattanville 75-51 on Tuesday night.

Kaleigh D'Arcy leads USMMA in points with 12.8 per game while adding 7.3 rebounds per contest. She is also the leader in assists with 5.5 per game. Taylor Hightower is just shy of a double-double average on the season as she has chipped in 9.3 points per outing and 10.5 rebounds.

Madison Demos has added nine points per game and Julia Dahlke is the leader in three pointers with six for the Mariners. Hightower and Dahlke each have 10 steals on the year and Hightower leads in blocked shots with five.

USMMA has shot just 33.1 percent from the field and 27.1 percent from the three-point line. They have averaged 23 offensive rebounds per contest this season while scoring 61.0 points per game. Defensively, they have allowed 48.3 points per contest and teams have shot 31.7 percent from the field as well as 25.7 percent from the three-point stripe.

Analyzing Purchase: The Panthers have opened up the season 1-5 overall and 1-1 Skyline Conference play after defeating Sarah Lawrence 71-57 on Tuesday. Purchase will take on SUNY Delhi on Thursday before heading to Newburgh on Saturday.

Shadai Plowden is the leader in scoring with 12.7 points per game while Arta Krasniqi has averaged 11.3 points per contest. Krasniqi is the leading rebounder with 8.0 per game while Plowden has chipped in 6.0 caroms. 

Plowden is the leader in assists with 14 with Krasniqi has added 12. Krasniqi has added 17 blocks so far this season and Plowden leads in steals with eight while Amber Rodriquez has six.

The Panthers are averaging just 45.8 points per game on 29.4 percent shooting from the field and 21.6 percent from three. Defensively, they have allowed 65.5 points per contest on 34.6 percent shooting and 28.6 percent from the three-point line. They have been outrebounded on average by just under eight a game and have shot just 59.3 percent from the free throw line as a team.

What's Next: The Knights will travel to the College of Staten Island for a non-confernce contest on Saturday, December 14. Tip-off with the Dolphins is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.