Mercy Women's Basketball Falls in Season Opener
The Mercy College women's basketball team opened the
2010-11 campaign on Friday night, falling to the hosts 63-50 in the
second game of the 2010 Dominican College Tip-Off Tournament. In
the opener, St. Thomas Aquinas College beat Rockland rival Nyack
College 76-61.
Dominican (1-0) scored the game's first points on a jumper
by Shanice Scully, barely one minute into the game. Mercy then
settled down, and went on an 11-0 run, keyed by senior Ashley Borofsky (Southington,
Conn./Southington), who had all six of her first-half
points in that stretch. Defense was an overwhelming factor for the
Mavericks (0-1), who forced five turnovers in that run.
The Chargers rallied back, and pulled to within four with 9:50
to go, on a three-pointer by Marley Klunk. After a Mercy College
timeout, the teams traded baskets until a three-pointer by Kaity
Lent at the 7:27 mark gave the home team its first lead of the
game. Dominican would extend the lead to as much as eight at 28-20,
on a free throw by Bianca Harris with 2:30 to play. Junior forward
Crasheena Ward (Danbury,
Conn./Danbury) would convert a put-back to score the
Mavericks' last points of the half. Mercy would trail 31-22
after 20 minutes.
DC would open the second stanza on a 7-2 run, extending its lead
to 14 points, on a three-pointer Meghan Murphy. Mercy junior guard
Simone
Williams (Waldorf, Md./Lackey) would respond, scoring
consecutive baskets, cutting the lead back to ten. But the Chargers
raced back, scoring back-to-back baskets to raise the lead back to
14. Freshman Maria Nardulli (Staten Island, N.Y./St.
Joseph by the Sea) converted the first field goal of
her college career, forcing a Dominican time out. Undeterred,
junior forward Talia Beaulieu (Waldorf,
Md./McDonough) converted a rebound and the lead was
back to ten.
The lead swelled to as many as 20 with about five and a half
minutes to play. Yet the Mavericks refused to give in. A basket by
freshman Aysha Williams (New Rochelle, N.Y./New
Rochelle) cut the lead to ten with just over two
minutes to play. Mercy would get no closer, falling 63-50.
For the game, Simone Williams led Mercy with 18 points. Borofsky
and Aysha Williams each added nine points and six rebounds.
DC's Marley Klunk led all players with 19 points and 11
rebounds.
Day Two of the Tip-Off Tournament is Saturday, November 14.
Mercy will face Nyack at noon, followed by STAC and Dominican at
2:00 p.m.
