Kings Point, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team saw its 11-game winning streak come to an end Saturday afternoon following a hard fought road loss at the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
Kate Hughes (Belle Harbor, N.Y.) led the scoring attack for the Knights with 18 points.
Saturday's defeat drops Mount Saint Mary to 15-4 overall and 12-2 in Skyline Conference play, while USMMA improves to 19-2 and 14-2 against league rivals. The two teams split the regular season series, with each winning on its home floor, with the Knights, Mariners and Manhattanville all with two losses to date in league play.
First Half
- The Mount got off to a quick start opening an 8-2 lead over the first 3:54 of the contest, with Asia Rivera (Saddle Brook, N.J.) sparking the run with a three-point field goal.
- Following a Grace Jackson triple that cut the Mount's lead to 8-5, the Knights ripped off the next seven points to push their lead to 15-5.
- Lauren Desrats (Warwick, N.Y.) started the run with a three-pointer and Shannon Phelan (Tappan, N.Y.) converted a layup with 2:34 left in the first quarter to give the Knights the double-digit lead.
- The Knights grabbed a 10-point lead for a second time when Charlotte Twohig (Syosset, N.Y.) dropped in a layup to give the Mount a 17-7 lead with 2:06 left in the first quarter.
- Following the Twohig conversion, USMMA scored the final seven points of the quarter, capped by a Kaira Watson bucket in the closing seconds, to get the Mariners to with 17-14 heading to the second stanza.
- The Knights got a Katie Smith (Goshen, N.Y.) bucket and another three-pointer from Desrats to open the second period and push the lead back out to 22-14.
- The Mount maintained the lead until the midway point of the second quarter when a Jackson free-throw knotted the score at 24-24.
- The Knights responded with the next four points and would not trail heading into halftime.
- USMMA would knot the score twice, at 28-28 and 31-31, but a Hughes bucket with 32 seconds left before the break gave the Knights a 35-32 advantage.
- Abby Stramski closed out the scoring in the closing seconds for the Mariners, trimming the Mount's lead to 35-34 heading into halftime.
- Mount Saint Mary shot 48.3-percent from the floor in the first half, including a 4-for-9 showing from three-point range.
- USMMA was held to 35.5-percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes, also hitting on four triples.
- USMMA outscored the Mount 8-3 from the free-throw line prior to the break.
- K. Smith paced the Knights in the first half with eight points.
- Jackson led all scorers at halftime with 15 points on the strength of 4-for-8 shooting from long distance.
Second Half
- Mount Saint Mary used a triple from Erin Smith (Goshen, N.Y.) and a pair of free-throws from Hughes to push back in front 44-36 with just under seven minutes left in the third period.
- USMMA would pull to within three points on four occasions following the Hughes' free-throws.
- Ciarra Quinn (Bayside, N.Y.) canned a three-pointer to build the lead back to 53-47 with 62 seconds remaining in the third period, but a Madison Demos jumper cut the Mount's lead to 53-49 heading into the final 10 minutes.
- Demos brought the Mariners to within a single point, at 53-52, just over a minute into the final frame.
- K. Smith knocked down a jumper to push the Mount back in front 59-53 and delivered a layup with 5:44 left play to open a 64-57 advantage.
- Following the Smith layup, USMMA put together a 18-3 run to pull in front for the first time in the contest.
- Jackson hit a jumper to push the Mariners in front 69-67 before USMMA took its largest lead of the game at 75-67 on a Stamski free-throw in the closing seconds.
- A Desrats triple at the horn brought the Knights to within the final five-point disadvantage.
- Mount Saint Mary cooled to 38.9-percent shooting after halftime, going 1-for-7 in its last eight attempts.
- USMMA shot 47.1-percent in the second half and outscored the Mount 8-2 from the charity stripe.
- Hughes went 6-for-9 from the floor in the second half on her way to 14 points.
- Lauren Hunter and Watson led the way for USMMA after halftime with 11 points apiece.
For The Knights
- Hughes scored in double-figures for the sixth time this season, leading the Knights after going 8-for-15 from the floor. She added four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
- K. Smith contributed 14 points on 6-for-15 shooting, leading the team with seven rebounds. Smith added a career-high nine assists for the Knights.
- Desrats finished 3-fo-6 from three-point range on her way to nine points, adding three caroms and two steals.
- Quinn finished 3-for-4 from long range, scoring nine points off the bench.
- Rivera finished with six points and collected six rebounds.
For The Mariners
- Jackson led all scorers in the game with 21 points, going 7-for-20 from the floor with four triples.
- Hunter scored 16 points and closed a double-double with 11 rebounds.
- Wintsin put together a strong all-around game, scoring 15 points, collecting seven rebounds and handing out eight assists.
- Demos rounded out a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds while handing out four helpers.
Game Statistics
- Mount Saint Mary shot 43.1-percent overall in the game and finished 9-for-23 from three-point range.
- USMMA converted at 41.5-percent and knocked down five triples.
- USMMA outscored the Mount 16-5 from the free-throw line.
- Mount Saint Mary outscored the Mariners 34-26 in the paint.
- Second chance points went to the Mariners 11-6 while points off of turnovers were even at 11-11.
What's Next
- The Knights play host to Manhattanville on Wednesday in an important Skyline Conference contest.
- USMMA hosts Sarah Lawrence on Wednesday.
