SPARKILL, N.Y. (Nov. 11, 2022) – Powered by a career-high 26 points from sophomore Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry), the Mercy College women's basketball team opened its 2022-23 season with a 77-63 win over American International College on Friday night at Aquinas Hall Gym.
The Mavericks (1-0) win their season opener for the first time since 2017 and defeat the Yellow Jackets (0-1) for the first time in program history.
Halvorsen had a game-high 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor and 6-of-11 shooting from downtown. Senior Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) added 16 points and sophomore Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) added a career-high 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting with five rebounds. Graduate student Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) netted 10 points and a game-high-tying eight rebounds. Graduate student Sara Hopkins (Mountain Top, Pa./Concordia College) added a game-high five assists and senior Asha Talib (Allentown, Pa./University of Bridgeport) also had a game-high-tying eight rebounds with nine points. Freshman Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) added five points off the bench in her collegiate debut.
AIC was led by Taylor Tomlinson who had a team-high 17 points.
The Yellow Jackets held a 9-3 lead at the 3:38 mark of the first quarter before back-to-back baskets from Wall and Stanavich made it 9-7. AIC closed the quarter with a basket to take an 11-7 lead after the first quarter.
Halvorsen opened the second quarter with a jumper to make it 11-9 before the Yellow Jackets went on a 7-2 run to increase their lead to seven, 18-11, with 7:50 left before halftime. AIC later held a 20-14 lead before five points from Stanavich and a layup from Wall gave Mercy a 21-20 lead with five minutes left in the half. AIC tied the game at 21-21 with a Kayla Robinson free throw on their next possession. A Barrera jumper at the 3:39 mark gave the lead back to the Mavericks at 23-21. The Yellow Jackets later tied the score at 23-23 before back-to-back threes from Halvorsen and Wall gave Mercy a 29-23 lead with two minutes remaining in the half. AIC netted five consecutive points to make it 29-28 before a Stanavich jumper put the Mavericks ahead 31-28. A late Yellow Jacket basket cut the Mavericks lead to one, 31-30, at halftime.
AIC opened the scoring in the third quarter to take a 32-31 lead. Back-to-back baskets from Talib gave the lead back to Mercy at 35-32. The Yellow Jackets cut the Mercy lead to one, 38-37, with 7:18 left in the quarter after a Tia-Marie Martinez three. Halvorsen drained a three and made a layup to build the Mercy lead to 43-37. A Halvorsen trifecta at the 3:40 mark increased the Mavericks lead to double figures for the first time at 49-39. A late Barrera layup gave Mercy a 55-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Yellow Jackets cut the deficit to single digits, 55-46, early in the fourth quarter. However, a Wall three-point play gave the Mavericks a 58-46 lead and a Wall free throw put Mercy up 59-46 with 8:46 remaining. A Talib three with 4:53 on the clock later gave the Mavericks their largest lead of the game at 70-54. The Yellow Jackets could not get closer than 13 points and Mercy came away with the impressive season-opening win.
Mercy shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59) from the floor, 40.0 percent (8-of-20) from downtown and 68.2 percent (15-of-22) from the foul line. AIC shot 34.3 percent (24-of-70) from the field, 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from beyond the arc and 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 45-37 edge on the glass and a 42-10 edge in bench points.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow when they face Saint Michael's at STAC at 1 p.m.
