Monserrate Scores 18, as Women's Basketball Faces Cross River Rival St. Thomas Aquinas
Box Score SPARKILL, N.Y. (Jan. 28, 2014)- Senior Alexis Monserrate (Locust Valley, N.Y. / Locust Valley) came off the bench to 18 points on 7-11 shooting, as the Mercy College women's basketball team fell to the Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas College, 82-71. The Mavericks fall to 2-15 overall, and 1-11 in the East Coast Conference, while the Spartans improve to 8-8 overall, and 4-7 in the ECC.
The Mavericks started strong as they scored on three consecutive trips down the floor, which was capped off on a layup by senior Pam Sosa (New York, N.Y. / James Baldwin) for an early 10-4 lead with 15:37 left in the first half. The Spartans climbed back in to take a one-point lead at 11-10.
The Spartans held a six-point cushion at the 11:23 mark, but Mercy used a 6-0 outburst to cut the deficit to two on a Shayne Ortiz (New York, N.Y. / Cinco Ranch HS) layup with 10:47 left. The Spartans responded with a 9-4 run to take a 31-22 lead with under five minutes to play in the half. STAC would get to the line in the final five minutes of the half and extend the lead to 43-30 at the half.
In the second half, buckets by freshman Maggie Salomone (Narragansett, R.I. / Narragansett), junior Tanayzha Augustine (Poughkeepsie, N.Y. / Poughkeepsie) and Monserrate proved to be not enough as the Spartans coasted to the victory.
For Mercy, Salomone scored 14 points, while senior Maria Nardulli (Staten Island, N.Y. / St. Joseph by the Sea) added 13. Augustine had another double-digit rebounding effort as she finished with 15 boards.
Head Coach Rashidi Aikens and the Mavericks return to action on Thursday, Jan. 30, as they host the Firebirds of the University of the District of Columbia at 5:30 p.m.
