Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team tipped off the 2022-23 season at home Tuesday night, falling to New Paltz 70-53. Lauren Desrats (Warwick, N.Y.) was one of two Knights to score in double figures, posting 16 points in the loss. 

Tuesday's loss drops the Mount to 0-1 to open the season, while New Paltz improves to 1-0 to begin the campaign. 

First Half 

• New Paltz held a tight 15-14 lead after the first period of play. 
• The Hawks gained an 8-4 lead with following a triple by Graci Serravillo with 7:03 remaining in the opening period. 
• Mount Saint Mary scored the next seven points to take an 11-10 advantage, capped off by a three-point jumper by Desrats with 5:17 left in the first quarter. 
• New Paltz shot 6-15 from the field and 1-4 from beyond the arc in the first frame. 
• Mount Saint Mary was 5-15 from the field and 1-5 on triples in the opening 10 minutes. 
• The two sides traded blows over the second quarter, with neither side able to build a lead of more than five points. 
• A layup by Abby Korzekwinski pushed the Hawks lead to 21-16 with 6:11 remaining in the second quarter, but the Knights would score the next five points to knot the game at 21. 
• A layup by Shannon Phelan (Tappan, N.Y.) with 1:55 to go in the second period gave the Knights a 27-26 advantage. 
• A Katie Smith (Goshen, N.Y.) jumper pushed the margin to 31-28 with 19 seconds left in the second quarter, a lead the Knights would take into halftime. 
• The Knights closed the first half of play shooting 39.3-percent from the field but just 2-11 from beyond the arc. 
• The Hawks shot 35.3-percrent from the field, to go along with a 42.9-percent mark from three in the first 20 minutes of action. 
• Desrats scored 12 of her 16 points in the first half, shooting 3-7 from the field and 2-5 from three-point range. 
• Korzekwinski scored six points to go along with four rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of play. 

Second Half 

• The third quarter started well for the Knights who led by three multiple times, but the Hawks went on a 12-0 run late to build a 50-40 lead. 
• Smith hit a jumper with 7:00 left in the third period to extend the Mount's lead to 37-34. 
• The 12-0 run started with a pair of Brianna Fitzgerald free throws at the 3:07 mark and was capped off with Fitzgerald converting a layup with 45 seconds remaining in the third frame to push the Hawks advantage to 50-38. 
• A couple of Erin Smith (Goshen, N.Y.) free throws cut the Hawks lead back to 10 with 22 seconds left, ending the quarter with a score of 50-40. 
• The Knights continued to fight back in the fourth period, cutting the deficit to six following an Asia Rivera (Saddlebrook, N.J.) jumper. 
• The Hawks proved to be too much for the Knights, as they outscored them 17-6 over the final eight minutes of action, capped off by a trio of Jenny Walton triples. 
• The Knights shot just 9-of-27 following the break and did not knock down a triple in seven tries in the final 20 minutes. 
• The Hawks improved to 15-of-36 shooting after halftime, while knocking down six threes on 14 tries.  
• Phelan lead the Mount with five points after the break. 
• Walton caught fire for the Hawks, scoring all 25 of her points after intermission. 

For The Knights 

• Desrats paced the Mount in points with 16 on 5-of-11 shooting, knocking down two threes to go along with six rebounds. 
• K. Smith contributed 12 points while going 6-10 from the field, while also posting five rebounds and three assists. 
• Rivera ripped down eight boards for the Mount, a team high. 
• Phelan closed the night with nine points and three assists.  
• E. Smith contributed six points and five caroms.  

For The Hawks 

• Walton scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-21 shooting as she exploded in the second half. 
• Fitzgerald chipped in 15 points as well as eight rebounds and four steals. 
• Maddie Gillis stuffed that stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, and four assists. 

Game Statistics 

• Mount Saint Mary finished the game 20-55 from the field, but just 2-of-18 from beyond the arc. 
• New Paltz knocked down triples at a 42.9-percent clip over the full 40 minutes. 
• Points in the paint were nearly even, with the Hawks holding a slight 32-30 advantage. 
• New Paltz turned 18 Mount Saint Mary turnovers into a 19-10 edge in scoring off miscues. 

What's Next 

• Mount Saint Mary will get another shot at its first win of the season when they travel to Middlebury on Saturday. 
• The Hawks will play host to Hartwick on Friday.