Sullivan Free Throws With 21 Seconds Left Lead Women's Basketball to 70-69 Comeback Victory Over Daemen
Box Score AMHERST, N.Y. (Jan. 9, 2016) – Powered by a pair of free throws from sophomore Casey Sullivan (East Lyme, Conn./Saint Bernard) with 21 seconds left, the Mercy College women's basketball team overcame a 16-point deficit in the first half to defeat Daemen College, 70-69, in an East Coast Conference (ECC) matchup on Saturday afternoon at Lumsden Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (4-9, 1-5 ECC) pick up their first ECC win of the year and have now won two of their last three games to begin 2016, while the Wildcats (2-9, 0-5 ECC) remain winless in league play and have dropped eight in a row. With the win, Mercy wins at Daemen for the first time in three all-time meetings
Leading the Mavericks was double-double machine senior Deasia Goodson (Freeport, N.Y./SUNYIT) who recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Freshman Chi-la Bady (Valley Stream, N.Y./Francis Lewis) tallied a team-high 15 points and added a game-high seven assists. Sullivan added 11 points with five rebounds and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe as Mercy went 22-of-29 (75.9 percent) as a team from the free throw line on the day.
Sarah Saba paced Daemen with a game-high 16 points in a losing effort.
Mercy entered today's contest off a tough loss to Roberts Wesleyan yesterday and fell in a quick hole as they trailed 25-11 after the first quarter. However, the Mavericks would stage a comeback and rely on late game heroics to pick up their first league win of the season and end their western New York road trip with a win.
A 9-0 run by Mercy to open up the second quarter cut the deficit to five, 25-20, with 7:56 left before halftime. However, the momentum was short-lived as the Wildcats came back with a 13-2 run to build their lead to a game-high 16 points, 38-22, with 2:26 left before intermission. The Mavericks looked to be headed towards another tough loss, but a 10-0 run to end the half gave Mercy hope as they only trailed by six, 38-32, at the break.
Junior Paxton Reddington (Holmdel, N.J./Brookdale CC) drained a trifecta at the 5:45 mark to get the Mavericks within one, 48-47, the closest they had been since the score was tied at 5-5 with 8:45 left in the opening quarter. A Bady jumper with 3:54 left in the third cut the deficit to one again before Daemen ensued with a 4-0 spurt that gave them a 54-49 advantage with 27 seconds left in the period. A Sullivan layup with three seconds left in the frame cut it to a one possession game at 54-51 heading into the fourth.
The hosts opened up the final stanza on an 8-3 run to increase the lead back to eight, 62-54, with six minutes left. The Mavericks hopes looked to be fading away, but Mercy would show some toughness as they followed with a 14-4 run, capped off by a Bady three and two free throws, that gave the Mavericks a 68-66 lead with 2:52 left, their first lead since 5-3 in the first quarter.
Daemen wasn't going to give up and immediately responded with a triple from Raeann Stilwell that gave them back the lead at 69-68. The two teams would go scoreless over the next two minutes as both defenses tightened up. However, following a missed jumper with 23 seconds left, Sullivan would secure the offensive rebound and was fouled, sending her to the foul line with a chance to give the Mavericks the lead. The sophomore came through and nailed both to put Mercy up 70-69 with just 21 seconds left.
After a Wildcats timeout, the Mavericks defense stepped up and withstood two Daemen offensive rebounds and two shots to secure the come-from-behind victory.
Mercy shot 30.9 percent (21-of-68) from the field and held the Wildcats to 35.8 percent (24-of-67). The Mavericks held a 51-47 edge on the boards and maintained a 14-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Head Coach Rashidi Aikens and the Mavericks will look to build off the win as they return home to host St. Thomas Aquinas on Tuesday, January 12th at 5 p.m.
