Women's Basketball Drops Season Opener to St. Anselm
BOXSCORE – Mercy vs. St. Anselm
MANCHESTER, N.H. (Nov. 11, 2011) – On Friday night the women's basketball team opened its season in Manchester, N.H. against the St. Anselm College Hawks in the ECC/NE-10 Conference Challenge, returning four starters and several role players from last year's squad but getting off to a slow start and falling 79-52.
Mercy falls to 0-1 to start the season, with St. Anselm starting at 1-0.
The Mavericks jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the game but the Hawks responded with a 20-2 run and took a 40-21 lead into halftime. Junior forward MarQuesha Moore (Bryans Road, Md.) scored Mercy's first six points in the second half as the Mavericks attempted to rally, but they could only cut the lead to 12 before St. Anselm stretched it back out and held on for the win.
Five Mavericks scored between eight and 10 points with just one three-pointer as the team looks for a go-to scorer to replace last year's ECC leader in three-pointers, Ashley Borofsky. Moore and freshman junior wing Jessica Biggs (Nanuet, N.Y.) tied for the team lead with 10 points each off the bench, while junior guard Aysha Williams (New Rochelle, N.Y.) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and senior point guard Simone Williams (Waldorf, Md.) dished out six assists.
Senior point guard Epiphany Smith (Springdale, Ark.) led the Hawks with 25 points, hitting five threes and sinking all six free throw attempts. Junior forward Curran Leighton (Dover, N.H.) pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and broke double digits in scoring along with senior forward Megan Howard (St. Paul, Minn.), with 11 and 14 points, respectively. Howard also tied for the team lead in assists (four) with sophomore guard Meg Morrissey (So. Kingstown, R.I.).
Head Coach Kelli Dunlay and the Mavericks will continue the Northeast 10-ECC Conference Challenge tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. as they take on host Southern New Hampshire University.
