DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 21, 2021) – Despite a career-high 16 points from freshman Asya Brandon (Hamden, Conn./Hamden), the Mercy College women's basketball team dropped a 79-45 decision to ECC foe No. 13/17 Daemen College on Sunday afternoon at Victory Hall Sports Center.

The Mavericks (0-5, 0-5 ECC) remain winless on the season, while the Wildcats (9-1, 7-0 ECC) remain unbeaten in ECC play.

Brandon went 6-for-11 from the field in 21 minutes off the bench and sophomore Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) had six points and two steals. Sophomore Brianna Lee (Elmont, N.Y./Saint Mary's) netted six points and six rebounds and sophomore Asha Talib (Allentown, Pa./University of Bridgeport) had five points and five rebounds.

Daemen was led by Katie Titus who had a game-high 22 points.

The score was tied at 2-2 following a pair of Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) free throws at the 8:41 mark of the first quarter. Daemen ensued with a 13-0 run to take a 15-2 lead with three minutes left in the frame. Mercy later cut the deficit to 10, 18-8, following a Kellie Nudd (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) three. However, the visitors ended the quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 26-10 lead after one quarter.

The Wildcats started the second quarter on a 16-2 run to build a 42-12 lead with 1:27 on the clock. A Brandon layup with just under a minute left in the quarter made it 42-14 in favor of Daemen at halftime.

Daemen outscored the Mavericks 23-6 to start the third quarter, giving the guests a 65-20 lead with 1:28 remaining in the quarter. A Wall free throw made it 65-21 after three quarters of play.

A three-pointer to open the fourth quarter gave Daemen their largest lead of the game, 68-21. The Mavericks continued to battle and came back on a 20-6 run, capped off by a Briana Barnard (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) three, which made it 74-41 with 1:51 left. Mercy went on to outscore the Wildcats 24-14 in the fourth quarter but the deficit proved too much to overcome and Daemen came away with the win. Brandon finished with nine of her 16 points during the fourth quarter to lead the Mavericks.

Mercy shot 27.8 percent (15-for-54) from the floor, 31.6 percent (6-for-19) from beyond the arc and 50.0 percent (9-for-18) from the foul line. Daemen shot 43.3 percent (29-for-67) from the field, 46.7 percent (14-for-30) from downtown and 70.0 percent (7-for-10) from the charity stripe. Daemen held a 53-32 edge in rebounds and 22-5 edge in fastbreak points.

Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, February 24th when they host St. Thomas Aquinas at 5 p.m.