NYACK, N.Y. (Feb. 8, 2018) – Despite a team-high nine points from senior Monet Keane-Dawes (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood), the Mercy College women's basketball team suffered an 84-43 setback to ECC foe St. Thomas Aquinas College on Thursday evening at Nyack College.
The Mavericks (6-17, 2-12 ECC) have dropped seven games in a row, while the Spartans (21-3, 13-1 ECC) increase their win streak to six.
Mercy was led by Keane-Dawes, who also finished the game with six rebounds, two steals and one assist. Freshman Amber Brown (South Brunswick, N.J. / South Brunswick) added eight rebounds, six points and one steal for the Mavericks. Junior Cynthia Perez (Middle Village, N.Y. / Christ the King) added eight points, two rebounds and one assist.
For the Spartans, Jenna Erickson recorded a game-high 19 points while recording two rebounds, two assists and one steal. Madison Amalia had 12 points, three rebounds and three steals. Zaria Thomas rounded out the double digits with 11 points, three steals, two rebounds and two assists.
The Spartans started the scoring in the game, with the first four points coming from Erickson. Sophomore Caralie Wilson (Gold Coast, Australia / John Paul College) put the Mavericks on the board with 5:04 on the clock when she recorded a successful layup. Senior Casey Sullivan (East Lyme, Conn/ Saint Bernard) was the next to score, as she hit a three point shot off of a pass from Wilson to give the Mavericks a 5-4 lead with 3:50 to go in the quarter. The Spartans did not give up, as they fought the remaining time of the quarter and were able to record 15 unanswered points. St. Thomas Aquinas entered the second quarter with a 19-5 lead.
The Spartans were able to score nine straight points in the beginning of the second quarter before Perez was able to score on a layup to slow down the Spartans offense. The Mavericks were able to score eight points in two minutes until Jillian Lynch hit a three point shot to slow down the Mavericks offense, giving the Spartans a 34-13 lead with 2:15 left to play in the quarter. A three-point shot from sophomore Abigail Collier (Watertown, Conn. / Watertown) would round out the Mavericks scoring for the first half, heading into halftime trailing 39-16 to the Spartans.
St. Thomas Aquinas was able to score five points in the third quarter before the Mavericks were able to record ten unanswered points to bring the score to 44-26 with 5:31 left on the clock. The quarter remained a back and forth battle, with the Spartans scoring another five points until Latisha Clark (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) hit a jumper to bring the Mavericks offense back in the game. Despite outscoring the Spartans 19-17 for the quarter, the Mavericks still trailed the Spartans 56-35 entering the final quarter.
The Spartans defense came out ready to seal the deal, as they were able to record 28 points in the ten minutes of action compared to the Mavericks eight. Despite a hard fought game, the Mavericks eventually fell to the Spartans, 84-43.
Mercy shot 31.4 percent (16-of-51) from the floor, 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from beyond the arc and 75.0 percent (6-of-8) from the foul line. St. Thomas Aquinas shot 39.4 percent (28-of-71) from the field, 38.2 percent (13-of-34) from long distance and 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the charity stripe.
Head Coach Jim Harter and the Mavericks look to pick up an East Coast Conference win on Saturday, February 10th then they head to the University of the District of Columbia for a 3 p.m. start.
