Women's Basketball Completes Sweep of ECC Rival Queens College, 70-60
QUEENS, N.Y. (Feb. 18, 2012) – Senior forward Jasmine Williams (Stratford, Conn.) scored 23 points to lead four Mavericks in double figures as the Mercy College women's basketball team defeated East Coast Conference foe Queens College, 70-60, for the second time this season on Saturday afternoon.
Mercy improves to 3-21 overall and 3-11 in the ECC, while Queens drops to 1-23 (0-14).
Queens entered the day on a 17-game losing streak, with its last and only win of the season coming back on Nov. 30. Even injury-ravaged as they were, the Knights looked primed for an upset as they took a 10-point lead late in the first half, but Mercy recovered to complete a two-game sweep for the day with the men's squad.
The teams traded leads through the opening minutes until an 18-5 run put Queens up 10, but Mercy responded with a 13-3 run of its own to end the half with a tie game at 33 apiece. The Mavericks struggled to hit their shots early but made up for it with a slew of offensive rebounds and steals, which led to a 10-shot advantage and 19 by the final whistle, and a season-low eight turnovers.
The Mavericks stormed out to a six-point lead as the second half got underway and quickly made it nine before Queens fought back into the mix, cutting it back to five with 9:07 to play. That would be the closest it got, however, as Mercy outpaced Queens for the remainder of the game, extending the lead to as much as 12 before a late Queens jumper settled it at 10 for the Mavericks win.
Williams' 23 points led the game, while junior wing Jessica Biggs (Nanuet, N.Y.), senior point guard Simone Williams (Waldorf, Md.) and senior forward Talia Beaulieu (Waldorf, Md.) also scored in double digits with 13, 12 and 11 points, respectively. Beaulieu fell just one rebound short of a double-double with nine and Simone Williams added 12 assists, falling one shy of her career high in recording the double-double.
Sophomore guard Nicole Caggiano (Holtsville, N.Y.) poured in 20 points, including six three-pointers, to lead the Knights as senior guard Cadie Chu (Bellerose, N.Y.) and sophomore center Caitlin Hopkins (Holtsville, N.Y.) each scored 10 to round out the double-digit scorers. Freshman center Megan Lonergan (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) grabbed eight rebounds and Chu passed for six assists in the loss.
Head Coach Kelli Dunlay and the Mavericks will look to ride their momentum in their final home contest of the season on Wednesday, Feb. 22 when they host Dowling College (18-6, 11-3) in the first game of a doubleheader with the men's squad. It will also be Senior Night as well as a Pink Zone Breast Cancer Awareness game. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
