Williams Sets Four Career Highs as Women's Basketball Hosts Adelphi
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 25, 2012) – Senior guard Aysha Williams (New Rochelle, N.Y.) set four career highs, including tying her scoring mark with 21 points, as four Mavericks scored in double digits for the Mercy College women's basketball team, which hosted Adelphi University on Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers held a 15-rebound advantage over the Mavericks while Mercy struggled to control the ball, making just nine assists while committing 23 turnovers. Although the squad limited junior guard Sade Jackson (Hackensack, N.J.) to just two points, three rebounds and three assists and shot 46 percent from the field (including 55 percent from behind the arc) en route to a one-point halftime lead, Mercy was unable to hold on into the second half, falling 88-65.
Mercy is now 0-3 on the young season while Adelphi gets back to .500 at 2-2.
Neither team could gain much of an advantage through the opening 10 minutes of the first half, with Mercy leading by the largest margin at 15-9 before Adelphi leveled the score. A 14-5 run put the Panthers up 27-22 with seven minutes to play but the Mavericks responded by closing out the half with an 18-12 run to take a one-point lead into the break.
Mercy went up by three as the second half got underway, but Adelphi finally found its groove just a few minutes later as the Panthers rattled off a 20-4 run that included a four-minute Mercy scoring drought to take a commanding 13-point lead. Junior guard Maria Nardulli (Staten Island, N.Y.) hit a three-pointer to end the run but Adelphi scored another 10 straight points to go up by 20, a margin the Panthers eventually extended to 23 at the final whistle.
Williams' 21 points and four assists led the Mavericks, while her seven rebounds and four steals both tied with senior forward MarQuesha Moore (Bryans Road, Md.) for tops on the squad. Williams' other career highs included eight field goals, three three-pointers and the four steals. Freshman guard Amber Harrison (Baldwin, N.Y.) netted 14 points while sophomore forward Shaniqua Lewis (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Moore each scored 10.
Despite being limited in the first half, Jackson still managed her third consecutive triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists while adding a team-high five steals. Sophomore forward Kelly Mannix (Barrington, R.I.) and junior forward Jessica Kitrys (Parlin, N.J.) both broke the 20-point barrier, with 27 and 22 points, respectively. Mannix hit six three-pointers and Kitrys made five of the team's seven blocks.
Head Coach Rashidi Aikens and the Mavericks will end their season-opening four-game homestand against East Coast Conference rival Queens College (2-1) on Saturday, Dec. 1 in a doubleheader with the men's squads. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., with the men set to follow at 3:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live online via this link.
