Copeland Pours in 17 as Women's Basketball defeats Nyack 68-57 in Season Opener
Box Score NYACK, N.Y. (Nov. 14, 2014)- Junior Erin Copeland (Kansas City, Kan. /Univ. of Illinois-Springfield) totaled 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting and added six assists, as the Mercy College women's basketball team defeated the Warriors of Nyack College, 68-57 in the 2014 season opener.
The Mavericks open the season at 1-0 overall, while the Warriors fall to 0-1.
Freshman Casey Sullivan (East Lyme, Conn. / Saint Bernard) connected on a three-pointer and a jumper to open up the scoring for the 2014-15 Mercy College women's basketball season and help the team crawl out of an early 0-4 deficit.
Mercy went back and forth with Nyack and stayed in the game based on the hot shooting from mid-range. Senior Riana Ward (Bronx, N.Y. / Erie CC) connected on a jumper after collecting an offensive rebound to give the Mavericks their largest lead at 30-25 with 05:25 left in the half.
Despite going cold in the final 02:33 of the first half, Mercy held a two point into halftime.
In the second half, the Mavericks opened up the half on a 10-3 run as junior Deasia Goodson (Freeport, N.Y. /SUNYIT) made a jumper after grabbing an offensive rebound to cause the Warriors to call an early timeout with 17:25 left.
The Mavericks rebounding made the difference down the stretch, as they couldn't crack a six-point cushion for the rest of the game.
Copeland had the hot hand late, as she scored 11 of the final 13 points and went 7-for-10 from the charity stripe in the final 01:49 to preserve the victory.
For Mercy, Ward came off the bench to score 12 points, while Goodson had nine points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. Senior Brandone Roberts (Jessup, Md. /Nyack College) fell a point short of a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds, while adding four blocks.
Head Coach Rashidi Aikens and the Mavericks return to action tomorrow, Saturday Nov. 15, as they will face the Lions of Georgian Court University on the campus of Nyack College at 1:00 p.m.
