DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 23, 2021) – Despite three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College women's basketball team dropped a 70-60 decision to Caldwell University on Tuesday night at Victory Hall Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (2-3) see their two-game winning streak come to an end, while the Cougars (4-2) have won four of their last five games.
Junior Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) led the way for Mercy with a near triple-double, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Sophomore Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) had a career-high 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting with eight rebounds and senior Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) had 17 points. Freshman Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) netted a career-high seven points off the bench. Junior Kellie Nudd (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) had a team-high 10 rebounds with three points.
Caldwell was led by Paula Dits who had a game-high 25 points and 12 rebounds.
Wall opened the game with a three to give Mercy a 3-0 lead less than a minute in. Mercy held their last lead of the game at 6-5 with 7:03 left in the first quarter after a Bender three. Caldwell followed with an 8-0 run to take a 13-6 lead with 3:58 remaining in the quarter. The Mavericks later cut the deficit to five, 15-10, after a Wall layup. However, the Cougars closed the quarter on a 5-2 spurt to take a 20-12 lead after the first quarter.
Caldwell started the second quarter with seven straight points to take a 27-12 lead with eight minutes left in the half. Mercy responded with a 15-5 run, capped off by a Bender layup, to get within five, 32-27, with three minutes on the clock. Caldwell ended the half on a 6-0 run to head into halftime with a 38-27 lead.
The Cougars began the third quarter on a 10-4 run to take a 48-31 lead with 6:54 remaining in the period. After a Mercy timeout, the Mavericks came back on a 16-6 run, finished off by a Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) three, to get within seven, 54-47, with 2:50 on the clock. Caldwell closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to head into the fourth quarter up 13, 60-47.
Caldwell built the lead to 15, 62-47, with 7:28 remaining. Mercy continued to battle and cut the Cougars lead to 10, 62-52, with 3:57 left. Caldwell ensued with a 6-0 run to increase the lead back to 16, 68-52, with just over a minute left. The Mavericks fought to the end and ended the game on an 8-2 run, capped off by back-to-back Stanavich layups, to fall by just 10, 70-60.
Mercy shot 31.2 percent (24-for-77) from the floor, 25.9 percent (7-for-27) from downtown and 71.4 percent (5-for-7) from the foul line. Caldwell shot 39.7 percent (27-for-68) from the field, 30.4 percent (7-for-23) from beyond the arc and 64.3 percent (9-for-14) from the charity stripe. Caldwell held a 51-47 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Sunday, November 28th when they host Assumption at 1 p.m.
