DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Dec. 4, 2019) – Powered by the final seven points of the game from freshman Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) in the final seconds of action, the Mercy College women's basketball team earned a 72-69 victory over Post University to extend their win streak to five games on Wednesday night at the Victory Hall Sports Center.
The Mavericks (5-3) have now won five games in a row for the first time since 1988 and are off to their best since 2014-15. The Eagles (4-2) see their four-game winning streak come to an end.
Wall had 13 points and went 4-of-4 from the line in the final 14 seconds. Sophomore Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) had a team-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 4-of-6 shooting from downtown. Senior Abigail Collier (Watertown, Conn./Watertown) recorded her second straight double-double with ten points and ten rebounds. Junior Amber Brown (South Brunswick, N.J./South Brunswick) posted ten points, six assists and is now two points shy of 1,000 for her career. Freshman Briana Barnard (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) netted nine points and six rebounds and sophomore Alexis Lake (Lakeview, N.Y./Malverne) contributed six points.
Post was led by Sha'Raya Haines and Taylor Williams who both had a game-high 22 points.
The Eagles took a 13-6 lead after a Haines free throw at the 6:01 mark of the opening quarter. Mercy answered back with a 9-0 run, capped off by two Barnard free throws, to take a 15-13 lead with 2:33 remaining in the frame. Post ended the quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 20-17 lead after one quarter of play.
The second quarter saw the Eagles take a 29-23 lead with 5:17 left before halftime. Mercy stormed back with a 13-2 run, finished off by a Wall three, that put the Mavericks up 36-31 at the 1:48 mark. Mercy headed into halftime with a 36-33 lead after a pair of Haines free throws.
Post opened the third quarter on an 18-8 run to retake the lead at 51-44 with 2:35 remaining in the period. The Eagles later held a 53-46 lead before a Brown layup cut the deficit to five, 53-48, after three quarters.
A free throw for Post increased the lead back to six, 54-48, just under 30 seconds into the final quarter. The Eagles maintained a 57-53 lead with 8:36 remaining, but the Mavericks continued to battle and went on a 9-4 spurt to take a 62-61 lead at the 6:08 mark. Post did not go down quietly and retook the lead and built it to four, 69-65, with 2:05 remaining after a Kiera Fernandes three. Wall stepped up in just her eighth collegiate game and drained a three with 44 seconds left to cut the Post lead to one, 69-68. After an Eagles turnover and a Mercy timeout, Wall drew a foul with 14 seconds left and drained both free throws to put the Mavericks up, 70-69. After a missed jumper by Williams for Post, Barnard grabbed the rebound but was called for an offensive foul to give the ball back to the Eagles with four seconds left. The ensuing possession saw Wall come up with a key steal and draw a foul to send the freshman to the line again. Wall drained both to give the Mavericks a three-point lead and a late desperation shot from halfcourt did not fall for Post giving Mercy the win.
Mercy shot 37.1 percent (23-of-62) from the floor, 45.0 percent (9-of-20) from downtown and 81.0 percent (17-of-21) from the foul line. Post shot 39.3 percent (24-of-61) from the field, 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from beyond the arc and 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the charity stripe.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Tuesday, December 10th when they host Concordia at 5 p.m.
