DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 19, 2022) – Powered by all 11 Mavericks scoring, the Mercy College women's basketball team earned an impressive 99-60 win over ECC foe Queens College on Wednesday night at Victory Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (9-6, 7-0 ECC) have won six games in a row and start 9-6 for the first time since the 1988-89 season. Mercy is also 7-0 in ECC play for the first time and scored their most points in a game since scoring 100 against Post on February 25, 2014. The 39-point win is the largest win for the Mavericks since defeating Maine Fort Kent, 96-39, on January 7, 2017. The 39-point win is also the largest win in ECC play for Mercy since a 97-40 win over Concordia on February 15, 2001. The Knights (1-11, 1-5 ECC) suffer their worst loss to the Mavericks. Mercy now has their most wins in a season since the 2014-15 season.
Junior Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) led the way for Mercy with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting with a game-high eight steals and seven assists. Senior Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) had 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting with seven rebounds and sophomore Jamie Waldron (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe Woodbury) had a career-high-tying 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting with seven rebounds. Junior Kellie Nudd (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) had seven points and sophomore Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) and junior Briana Barnard (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) each had six points. Freshmen Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry), Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) and Abrielle Racine (Mooers Forks, N.Y./Northeastern Clinton Senior) all had five points and junior Asha Talib (Allentown, Pa./University of Bridgeport) had four points. Senior Brianne Santos (Elmont, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) netted two points.
Queens was led by Aalia Carlson who had a team-high 14 points.
Mercy held a 10-8 lead with 4:35 left in the first quarter after a made basket by Jennah DeGout for Queens. The Mavericks would end the quarter on a 17-0 run, capped off by a Bender three, to take a 27-8 lead after one quarter of play.
The Mavericks opened the second quarter by increasing the lead to 22, 33-11, after a Waldron layup with 8:14 left in the half. Queens later cut the deficit to 21, 40-19, at the 4:10 mark, but Mercy followed with a 9-4 spurt, capped off by a Barnard three, to give Mercy a 49-23 lead with 2:45 remaining in the quarter. The Knights ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to head into halftime down, 49-28.
Mercy started the third quarter on an 8-0 run, finished off by a Wall layup, to give the Mavericks a 57-28 lead with 7:33 on the clock. Queens later made it 63-38, but a three and layup from Bender, gave Mercy a 68-38 lead with just over four minutes to play in the period. The Mavericks increased the lead to a quarter-high 37 points, 76-39, after a Wall layup with 32 seconds on the clock and headed into the fourth quarter up, 77-41.
A Halvorsen three to open the fourth quarter gave Mercy an 80-41 lead. The Mavericks increased the lead to 40 points, 90-50, after a pair of Santos free throws with 5:36 left. Racine later gave Mercy its biggest lead, 93-52, following a three-point play with 3:47 on the clock. The Mavericks cruised the rest of the way and earned the impressive win.
Mercy shot a season-high 51.4 percent (38-of-74) from the floor, 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from downtown and 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from the foul line. Queens shot 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the field, 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the charity stripe. Queens held a 40-38 edge on the glass and Mercy used 25 Queens turnovers to hold a 36-10 edge in points off turnovers. The Mavericks also had a season-high 22 assists.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, January 21st when they host D'Youville at 5 p.m.
