CALDWELL, N.J. (Nov. 26, 2019) – Powered by three Mavericks scoring 20-plus points, the Mercy College women's basketball team extended their win streak to four with a 96-89 double-overtime victory over Caldwell University on Tuesday night at Corino Court.
The Mavericks (4-3) have their first four-game winning streak since the 1997-98 season and are off to their best start since 2014-15. Mercy also matches their win total from all of last year, while the Cougars (0-6) remain winless on the year.
Junior Amber Brown (South Brunswick, N.J./South Brunswick) led the way with a game-high 30 points on 13-of-22 shooting with ten rebounds. Senior Abigail Collier (Watertown, Conn./Watertown) had a career-high 24 points and 15 rebounds and freshman Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) had a career-high 21 points going 14-of-14 from the foul line. Wall also had eight rebounds and seven assists and sophomore Alexis Lake (Lakeview, N.Y./Malverne) had 11 points and six rebounds. Senior Destinee Hall (Spring Valley, N.Y./Keystone College) ended the night with nine points and seven rebounds.
Caldwell was led by Tina Lebron who had a team-high 27 points.
Mercy took a 16-11 lead in the opening quarter following a Brown three at the 2:30 mark. Caldwell cut the deficit to two, but the Mavericks ended the quarter with a free throw from Collier and two free throws from Wall to give Mercy a 22-17 lead after one quarter.
The Mavericks held a 33-31 lead in the second quarter after a Brown jumper at the 3:57 mark. The Cougars closed the half on a 10-2 run to take a 41-35 lead at halftime.
Caldwell opened the third quarter with a three to take a 44-35 lead. The Cougars later held a 50-41 lead with 5:35 remaining in the quarter. The Mavericks stormed back on an 8-1 run, capped off by a Lake layup, which cut the Caldwell lead to two, 51-49, with 3:27 left in the frame. The hosts responded by increasing the lead back to eight and headed into the fourth quarter up five, 60-55.
Back-to-back layups from Lake and Wall made it a one-point game, 60-59, with 8:13 left in regulation. Caldwell ensued with a 10-2 run to put the lead back to nine, 70-61, with 5:49 remaining in regulation. The Cougars looked to be pulling away but the Mavericks had other plans and answered with a 12-3 run, finished off by a Brown layup, that tied the score at 73-73 with 56 seconds left. Neither team would score again in regulation so overtime would be needed.
Caldwell scored the first points of the first overtime period, but the Mavericks answered back and took an 80-76 lead with 1:59 remaining in the frame after a Hall free throw. Mercy held an 81-78 lead at the 51 second mark after a Collier free throw. Lebron then came down and hit a three for the hosts to tie the game up at 81-81 with 20 seconds left. Neither team could score in the final 20 seconds sending the game into a second overtime.
Wall drained two free throws to open the scoring in the second overtime. Caldwell later took the lead at 86-85 with 1:56 remaining following a Paula Dits free throw. Mercy followed with a 7-0 run with all of their points coming at the foul line to take a 92-86 lead with 19 seconds left. Wall went 6-of-6 from the line in the final 19 seconds of play to seal the win for Mercy.
Mercy shot 38.0 percent (30-of-79) from the floor, 19.0 percent (4-of-21) from downtown and 65.3 percent (32-of-49) from the foul line. Caldwell shot 41.5 percent (34-of-82) from the field, 32.3 percent (10-of-31) from beyond the arc and 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 52-24 edge in points in the paint and held a 60-50 edge in rebounds.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Sunday, December 1st when they host No. 7/8 Saint Anselm at 3 p.m.
