Goodson Notches Double-Double as Women's Basketball Hosts P.R. Bayamon in Home Opener
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 24, 2015) – Despite a double-double from senior Deasia Goodson (Freeport, N.Y./SUNYIT) and 13 points apiece from freshmen Chi-la Bady (Valley Stream, N.Y./Francis Lewis) and Cynthia Perez (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the King), the Mercy College women's basketball team dropped a 68-49 decision to the University of Puerto Rico Bayamon in their home opener on Tuesday night at Mercy Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (1-4) fail to build off their win on Sunday, while the Cowgirls (3-2) have now won two in a row.
Goodson finished with a team-high 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting while adding four blocks. Bady added seven rebounds and three assists and Perez went 7-of-10 from the charity stripe. Sophomore Casey Sullivan (East Lyme, Conn./Saint Bernard) netted seven points and eight rebounds, while senior Erin Copeland (Kansas City, Kan./Univ. of Illinois-Springfield) chipped in six assists.
Puerto Rico was led by Daneichka Canales who had a game-high 19 points, while Genesis Pagan added a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The opening quarter of the contest saw the Mavericks get off to a slow start as they shot 14.3 percent from the floor, but were able to stay within striking distance as they held the Cowgirls to 28.6 percent shooting.
After sophomore Latisha Clark (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) opened the scoring in the game with a free throw at the 8:39 mark, Puerto Rico responded with a 12-3 run over the next four minutes to build a 12-4 advantage with four minutes left in the quarter. Mercy came back with six unanswered to cut the deficit to two, 12-10, following a pair of Perez free throws, but Canales ended the period with a trifecta to give the Cowgirls a 15-10 lead after one quarter of play.
Puerto Rico began the second quarter on a 9-2 run to increase their lead to 12, 24-12, the largest of the half, with five minutes left in the frame. The Mavericks ensued with a 7-1 run to get within six, 25-19, with just over a minute left before half and headed into the locker room down seven, 27-20.
The opening stanza saw Mercy shoot just 14.8 percent (4-of-27), but the Mavericks held their own defensively, holding the Cowgirls to 26.5 percent (9-of-34) shooting to keep within striking distance.
Goodson began the second half with a jumper at the 9:12 mark to get Mercy back within five, 27-22. However, Puerto Rico went on a 6-0 run to up the lead back to double digits at 33-22 with 7:26 left in the third. The Mavericks cut the deficit to eight on four occasions with trifectas from Sullivan and Perez and a layup from Goodson, but the Cowgirls would end the period on an 8-0 run after the score was 41-33 to lead 49-33 after three quarters.
Puerto Rico increased the lead to 19, 54-35, with 7:42 left in the game, forcing a Mercy timeout. The Mavericks responded out of the timeout by going on a 7-0 run to get back within 12, 54-42, with 5:12 showing on the fourth quarter clock. Four unanswered by Puerto Rico upped the lead back to 16, but Mercy would not go down quietly as a Goodson layup got the Mavericks back within striking distance at 60-49 with 2:49 left. The Cowgirls ended any hope of a Mercy comeback as they concluded the game on an 8-0 run, holding the Mavericks scoreless for the remainder of the contest to seal the win.
Mercy shot 25.5 percent (14-of-55) from the field and 15-of-27 from the charity stripe, while the visitors connected on 36.6 percent (26-of-71) of their attempts and held a 50-43 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Rashidi Aikens and the Mavericks will look to bounce back as they return to action on Wednesday, December 2nd at LIU Post for a 5 p.m. tipoff.
