BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Feb. 17, 2018) – Powered by a game-high 22 points from freshman Amber Brown (South Brunswick, N.J./South Brunswick), the Mercy College women's basketball team earned a 58-55 win over ECC foe University of Bridgeport on Saturday afternoon at Hubbell Gym.
The Mavericks (8-18, 3-13 ECC) have won two games in a row and double their win total from all of last year. The Purple Knights (8-18, 5-11 ECC) have now dropped two games in a row.
Brown went 7-of-18 from the floor, 7-of-7 from the foul line and had a team-high nine rebounds. Senior Latisha Clark (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) added nine points and sophomore Caralie Wilson (Gold Coast, Australia/John Paul College) netted seven points.
Bridgeport was led by Samnell Vonleh who had a team-high 15 points along with a game-high 16 rebounds.
The Purple Knights entered the contest battling for an ECC Tournament spot and would take an early 6-2 lead at the 6:06 mark of the opening quarter. Bridgeport later held a 10-6 lead following a Vonleh layup with 3:11 remaining in the period. Mercy followed with a 6-2 run, capped off by a Casey Sullivan (East Lyme, Conn./Saint Bernard) three, to tie the game up at 12-12. The score was later tied at 14-14 before a Kadijah Dickson jumper gave the Purple Knights a 16-14 advantage after one quarter of play.
Bridgeport began the second quarter with three straight points to build a five-point advantage, 19-14, with nine minutes left in the half. Mercy stormed right back with a 7-2 run, finished off by a Holly Sanders (Chicago, Ill./Simeon Career Academy) three, that made it 21-21 with just under seven minutes left. The Mavericks took the lead, 25-23, with a Brown layup at the 3:41 mark. The teams would trade the lead back and forth before heading into halftime tied at 28-28.
The hosts opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 34-28, with 7:22 remaining in the quarter. Mercy quickly answered with six straight of their own to tie the game up for the tenth time at 34-34. The teams continued to trade the lead and the score was tied at 37-37 with 1:36 on the clock. Mercy closed the quarter out with three straight points to hold a 40-37 edge after three quarters.
A layup from Brown at the 9:07 mark of the fourth quarter gave Mercy a game-high five-point lead, 44-39. The Purple Knight answered with eight unanswered points to retake the lead at 47-44 with 6:59 remaining. The Mavericks responded with five straight points to once again take the lead at 49-47 with 5:15 left.
Bridgeport retook the lead at 51-49 with four minutes left, but Mercy followed with five points in a row to build a three-point advantage, 54-51, with 2:42 on the clock. A Morgan Caution jumper made it 54-53 with 2:14 left. Following a few empty possessions by both teams, Clark drew a foul with 33 seconds left and made a pair of free throws to make it 56-53. After a Bridgeport timeout, Vonleh made a layup at the 13 second mark to get Bridgeport within one, 56-55. Brown then went on to drain a pair of free throws to increase the lead back to three, 58-55, with ten seconds left. Briana Stoddart turned the ball over on the next Purple Knights possession, giving Mercy the road win.
Mercy shot 31.5 percent (17-of-54) from the floor, 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from downtown and 100 percent (19-of-19) from the foul line. Bridgeport shot 34.3 percent (23-of-67) from the field, 20.0 percent (2-of-10) from beyond the arc and 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from the charity stripe.
Head Coach Jim Harter and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, February 21st when they host Queens College at 6 p.m. at Nyack College.
