OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Jan. 23, 2019) – Despite a game-high 20 points from sophomore Amber Brown (South Brunswick, N.J./South Brunswick) and a career-high 16 points and 14 rebounds from freshman Alexis Lake (Lakeview, N.Y./Malverne), the Mercy College women's basketball team battled throughout before falling, 74-57, to second-place NYIT in an ECC matchup on Wednesday night at Recreation Hall.
The Mavericks (3-15, 0-8 ECC) remain winless in ECC action, while the Bears (15-3, 7-1 ECC) have won three games in a row.
Brown added eight rebounds and went 8-of-9 from the foul line. Lake went 7-of-12 from the field and senior Cynthia Perez (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the King) netted a season-high 12 points along with six rebounds.
NYIT was led by Shalie Frierson who poured in a team-high 19 points.
The teams traded baskets to start the game before Mercy ended the quarter on an 11-0 run to head into the second quarter up, 13-2.
The Mavericks held an 11-point lead, 15-4, with 8:49 left in the second quarter following a pair of Brown free throws. NYIT came back with five straight points to make it 15-9, but Mercy responded right back with a 10-3 run to take their largest lead of the game, 25-12, after a Lake jumper with 4:01 on the clock. The Bears closed out the half on a 19-3 run to take a 31-28 lead at halftime.
Mercy started the third quarter on a 6-2 run, capped off by a Lake layup, that gave the Mavericks a 34-33 lead with 6:47 left in the quarter. NYIT quickly answered with a 13-0 run to take the lead back and increase it to 12, 46-34, with 2:35 remaining. Brown made it a nine-point affair, 46-37, at the 2:25 mark after a three-point play and Mercy headed into the fourth quarter down, 50-40.
NYIT increased the lead to 16, 59-43, with 7:00 remaining but the Mavericks continued to hang against the second place team in the ECC and cut the deficit to nine, 59-50, following a Holly Sanders (Chicago, Ill./Simeon Career Academy) layup with 4:58 on the clock. The Bears ensued with a 15-5 run to take a 19-point lead, 74-55, with seven seconds left before a Lake layup at the buzzer provided the final score for Mercy.
Mercy shot 29.6 percent (21-of-71) from the floor, 14.3 percent (2-of-14) from downtown and 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the foul line. NYIT shot 40.6 percent (28-of-69) from the field, 20.0 percent (5-of-25) from beyond the arc and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the charity stripe. NYIT held a 52-44 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, January 26th when they host LIU Post at 12 p.m.
