Clark Scores Career-High 17 Points as Women's Basketball Opens Up ECC Play at LIU Post
Box Score BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Dec. 2, 2015) – Despite a career-high 17 points from sophomore Latisha Clark (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) and a double-double from senior Deasia Goodson (Freeport, N.Y./SUNYIT), the Mercy College women's basketball team opened up East Coast Conference (ECC) play with a 63-55 setback to LIU Post on Wednesday night at the Pratt Recreation Center.
The Mavericks (1-5, 0-1 ECC) drop their second game in a row, while the Pioneers (1-5, 1-0 ECC) pick up their first win of the season.
Clark went 4-of-10 from the field and 9-of-12 from the charity stripe, while adding five assists. Goodson secured her third double-double of the year by way of 11 points and ten rebounds. Sophomore Monet Keane-Dawes (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) added eight points and eight rebounds and senior Erin Copeland (Kansas City, Kan./Univ. of Illinois-Springfield) netted seven points, three assists and four steals.
Quanisha Ratley led four scoring in double figures for LIU Post with a game-high 18 points.
After not playing for over a week, Mercy got off to a slow start in the opening quarter as the Pioneers opened up the contest on a 5-0 run before a pair of Goodson free throws got the Mavericks on the board to make it 5-2 at the 5:24 mark. LIU Post ensued with a 14-5 run to increase the lead to 19-7 with 26 seconds left in the period before a Chi-la Bady (Valley Stream, N.Y./Francis Lewis) free throw at the two-second mark got Mercy to within 11, 19-8, after one quarter.
The hosts opened up the second period with four unanswered to build their lead up to 15, 23-8, with just under nine minutes left in the half. The Mavericks came right back with an 8-0 run, aided by trifectas from junior Paxton Reddington (Holmdel, N.J./Brookdale CC) and Bady and a layup from Clark, to cut the deficit to seven, 23-16, with 5:45 remaining before halftime. However, the Pioneers would close the half on a 13-3 run to take a 36-19 lead into halftime.
LIU Post came out of the intermission and tallied the first five points to increase their advantage to 21, 41-19, at the nine minute mark of the third quarter. The Pioneers increased the lead to a game-high 23 points, 44-21, just over two minutes into the period but the Mavericks would not give up as they finished off the quarter on a 20-4 run to get within seven, 48-41, after three quarters of play. Mercy ended the quarter outscoring LIU Post 22-13 and shot 50 percent (7-of-14) from the floor. Clark led the charge with nine points in the frame as the Mavericks held the hosts to 41.7 percent from the floor.
With the momentum on their side, Mercy looked to turn the heat up even more on the Pioneers to begin the fourth but a Jalyn Brown three to open the period increased the LIU Post lead to 52-41 with 8:57 left. The Mavericks did not go away and back-to-back baskets from Keane-Dawes and Copeland once again got Mercy within seven, 52-45, with seven minutes left.
The hosts responded with a trifecta and a pair of free throws to up the lead back to 12, 57-45. The Mavericks got the deficit down to eight, 57-49, following a Copeland three and Goodson free throw with 3:28 left but another Brown three at the 2:32 mark increased the lead back to 11, 60-49. Goodson followed on next possession with a layup, but Mercy's comeback bid would come up short as they could only muster four points in the final two minutes.
The Mavericks shot 32.1 percent (18-of-56) from the floor, while the Pioneers came in at a 46.8 percent (22-of-47) clip. LIU Post shot an efficient 9-of-20 from downtown and held a 36-31 edge on the glass. Mercy finished with a season-low 11 turnovers which they turned into a 20-11 advantage in points off turnovers on 18 Pioneers turnovers.
Head Coach Rashidi Aikens and the Mavericks will look to get back in the win column as they host Chestnut Hill on Saturday, December 5th at 12:30 p.m.
