Sullivan Connects on Four Triples as Women's Basketball Knocks off First Place Knights, 63-49
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 7, 2015) – Freshman Casey Sullivan (East Lyme, Conn. / Saint Bernard) knocked down four triples, including three in the first half, as the Mercy College women's basketball team defeated the first place Knights of Queens College, 63-49 on Saturday afternoon.
The Mavericks improve to 8-13 overall and 2-12 in the East Coast Conference, which is the most conference wins since 2011-12 and Mercy snapped a 14 game conference home losing streak. The Knights fall to 16-5 overall and 11-3 in the ECC.
Sullivan opened the scoring for the Mavericks by connecting on a triple off an assist from junior Erin Copeland (Kansas City, Kan. /Univ. of Illinois-Springfield) to take an early 3-1 lead. Sullivan's hot shooting kept Mercy in the game, as she connected on back-to-back triples during an 8-0 run, which give the Mavericks an 18-11 lead with 7:27 remaining. Queens closed the gap to just two at 19-17, but were dealt a huge blow when star center MacKenzie Rowland was forced to sit the rest of the half with three fouls.
Mercy controlled the rest of the first half, as they closed out the first stanza on a 7-0 run, to give them a 33-22 lead at the intermission.
Junior Tatiana Parish (Los Angeles, Calif. /Mt. San Antonio CC) led all scorers at the break with 12, while Sullivan totaled nine.
In the second half, the Knights threw on a press in an attempt to force the Mavericks to commit turnovers. The press nearly worked as they closed the halftime lead to just six and forced the Mavericks to call a 30 second timeout with 16:29 remaining.
Mercy responded with a 9-2 run, which was capped off by Sullivan's fourth triple of the afternoon. Mercy led 44-31 with just over 14 minutes to play. The Knights couldn't buy a bucket in the second half, as they shot 26.3% from the field in the latter 20. Rowland kept Queens within striking distance, as she totaled nine points and nine rebounds in the second half.
The Knights cut the Mavericks lead to as close as 10 points, but a key three from junior Briana Rhett (New Rochelle, N.Y. / Sullivan County CC) with 6:36 remaining stopped any run by Queens and give the Mavericks their first win over the Knights since 2012.
Senior Tanayzha Augustine (Poughkeepsie, N.Y. / Poughkeepsie) finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Parish led all scorers with 16 points. Copeland dished out 10 dimes and Sullivan finished 12 points. Rowland lead the Knights with 10 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks, and three steals.
Head Coach Rashidi Aikens and the Mavericks return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 11th, as they travel to Brookville, N.Y. to face the Pioneers of LIU Post University at 5:00 p.m.
