SPARKILL, N.Y. (Nov. 9, 2018) – Despite a team-high 21 points from sophomore Amber Brown (South Brunswick, N.J./South Brunswick), the Mercy College women's basketball team opened up their 2018-19 season with a 72-62 setback to Saint Michael's College on Friday night at Aquinas Hall Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (0-1) drop their season opener, while the Purple Knights (1-0) earn a win in their season opener.
Brown added six rebounds and went 8-of-20 from the floor. Freshman Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) had 13 points in her debut on 6-of-11 shooting and junior Destinee Hall (Spring Valley, N.Y./Keystone College) netted 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Saint Michael's was led by Samantha Delaney who had a game-high 22 points.
The two teams were tied at 6-6 at the 7:19 mark of the first quarter before the Mavericks went on a 10-4 run to take a 16-10 lead at the 4:07 mark after a Brown layup. St. Michael's responded with a 7-0 run to take a 17-16 lead, but Mercy would close the first quarter scoring four of the next six points to take a 20-19 lead after one quarter.
The Mavericks opened the second quarter with six straight points to take a 26-19 lead after an Alexis Lake (Lakeview, N.Y./Malverne) layup at the 8:42 mark. The Purple Knights cut the deficit to two, 26-24, before Mercy ensued with a 10-2 run to take a 36-26 lead with 1:57 on the clock. The Mavericks headed into halftime with a 38-28 lead after a Hall layup with 18 seconds remaining.
Mercy continued to play well to start the third quarter, increasing the lead to 11, 43-32, on a Bender three-pointer with 8:08 remaining in the third. Saint Michael's would make it a three-point game, 43-40, at the 6:25 mark, but the Mavericks concluded the quarter on a 13-5 run to increase the lead back to double digits heading into the fourth quarter.
The Purple Knights regrouped and began the fourth quarter on a 14-2 run to take a 59-58 lead with 3:51 remaining. A pair of free throws from Brown gave the Mavericks the lead back before Delaney made a layup to put Saint Michael's ahead 61-60. Lake followed with a tip-in at the 3:06 mark to give Mercy a 62-61 lead. However, the Mavericks would not be able to score again and the Purple Knights ended the game on an 11-0 run to secure the win.
Mercy shot 37.9 percent (25-of-66) from the floor, 28.0 percent (7-of-25) from downtown and 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from the foul line. Saint Michael's shot 39.7 percent (27-of-68) from the field, 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from beyond the arc and 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the charity stripe. The Purple Knights held a 15-4 edge in second chance points, while the Mavericks held a 19-12 edge in points off turnovers.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow when they play Nyack at St. Thomas Aquinas College at 1 p.m.
