WORCESTER, Mass. (Jan. 5, 2020) – Despite three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 72-59 decision to Assumption College in a non-conference matchup on Sunday afternoon.
The Mavericks (6-8) have dropped five games in a row, while the Greyhounds (9-4) have won five games in a row.
Freshman Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) had a team-high 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting with three assists. Junior Amber Brown (South Brunswick, N.J./South Brunswick) posted 12 points and a game-high-tying seven rebounds and senior Abigail Collier (Watertown, Conn./Watertown) recorded ten points on 5-of-7 shooting. Freshman Briana Barnard (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) and sophomore Alexis Lake (Lakeview, N.Y./Malverne) netted six points each.
Assumption was led by Emme Poulin who had a game-high 19 points.
Mercy got off to a good start in their first road game of 2020, taking a 10-6 lead at the 5:49 mark of the first quarter following a Brown jumper. Assumption answered back with an 8-0 run to take a 14-10 lead with 3:41 remaining in the opening quarter. The Greyhounds later held a 17-13 lead before an Ashley Lambert (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) three for the Mavericks made it 17-16 with 1:37 on the clock. A Monica Spain layup made it 19-16, but Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) drained a free throw to make it 19-17 in favor of the hosts after one quarter of play.
Assumption opened the second quarter with a Katherine Golden layup to take a 21-17 lead. Mercy came back on a 10-0 run, capped off by a Kellie Nudd (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) three, to take a 27-21 lead with 5:10 remaining in the half. The Mavericks headed into halftime with a 29-25 lead after outscoring the Greyhounds 12-6 in the second quarter.
The hosts started the third quarter on a 15-7 run to take a 40-36 lead at the 6:22 mark. A Wall three-pointer cut the deficit to one, 42-41, before Poulin answered with a three of her own to make it 45-41 with 3:30 left in the period. Wall followed with a pair of free throws and Lake added a free throw to get the Mavericks back within one, 45-44. However, the Greyhounds ended the quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 55-46 lead into the fourth quarter.
Assumption began the fourth quarter with a Temi Falayi layup to increase the lead to 11, 57-46. A Collier layup at the 8:19 mark got the Mavericks back within eight, 57-49, but the Greyhounds ensued with four straight points to put the lead to 12, 61-49, with 6:19 remaining. Collier once again got Mercy to within eight, 63-55, following a layup at the 3:25 mark, but the hosts ensued with a 7-1 run to take their largest lead of the game, 70-56, with 1:26 left. The Greyhounds led by double figures the rest of the way to secure the win.
Mercy shot 39.6 percent (19-of-48) from the floor, 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from downtown and 72.7 percent (16-of-22) from the foul line. Assumption shot 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the field, 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from beyond the arc and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the charity stripe. Assumption held a 36-35 edge in rebounds and Assumption turned 22 Mercy turnovers into a 23-16 edge in points off turnovers.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, January 8th when they play at New York Tech at 5 p.m.
