SPARKILL, N.Y. (Nov. 12, 2022) – Despite a team-high 15 points from senior Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham), the Mercy College women's basketball team dropped a 73-64 decision to Saint Michael's College on Saturday afternoon at Aquinas Hall.
The Mavericks (1-1) suffer their first loss of the season, while the Purple Knights (1-1) earn their first win.
Wall added five rebounds and four assists and senior Asha Talib (Allentown, Pa./University of Bridgeport) had 11 points. Graduate student Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) had nine points and four rebounds and junior Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) had eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Sophomore Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) chipped in six points.
Saint Michael's was led by Paige Slaven who had a game-high 17 points.
Mercy jumped out to a 10-7 lead after a Bender jumper with 4:48 left in the first quarter. Saint Michael's scored four straight points to take an 11-10 lead, but the Mavericks scored the next five points to take a 15-11 lead after a Wall three with 2:40 on the clock. The Purple Knights later tied the score at 17-17 before freshman Megan Marcotte (Enfield, Conn./Enfield) scored a basket to give Mercy a 19-17 lead after the first quarter.
The Mavericks took a 26-22 lead with 5:56 left in the second quarter after a Stanavich jumper. Saint Michael's ensued with a 7-0 run to take a 29-26 lead with four minutes left in the half. Mercy came back on a 5-0 run to take a 31-29 lead before the Purple Knights went on a 6-0 run to take a 35-31 lead with one minute left in the half. An Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) layup cut the Saint Michael's lead to two, 36-34, at halftime.
Saint Michael's built the lead back to four, 40-36, with 6:47 left in the third quarter. Back-to-back baskets from Tedesco and Bender tied the score at 40-40. The Purple Knights stormed back on a 14-3 run to take their largest lead of the quarter, 54-43, with one minute on the clock. Saint Michael's headed into the fourth quarter with a 55-45 lead.
Mercy opened the fourth quarter on an 11-3 run, capped off by a Wall jumper, to cut the deficit to two, 58-56, with 4:28 left to play. The Purple Knights battled back with a 14-2 run to take their largest lead of the game, 72-58, with 39 seconds left. The deficit proved too much to overcome and Saint Michael's came away with the win.
Mercy shot 35.1 percent (26-of-74) from the floor, 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from downtown and 75.0 percent (9-of-12) from the foul line. Saint Michael's shot 41.7 percent (25-of-60) from the field, 25.0 percent (5-of-20) from beyond the arc and 62.1 percent (18-of-29) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 47-43 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, November 16th when they play at Caldwell at 5:30 p.m.
