STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (Nov. 30, 2022) – Despite four Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College women's basketball team dropped a 71-67 decision to College of Staten Island in their ECC opener on Wednesday night at the Sports and Recreation Center.
The Mavericks (3-4, 0-1 ECC) have dropped two games in a row and fall to the Dolphins (3-4, 1-0 ECC) for the first time.
Senior Asha Talib (Allentown, Pa./University of Bridgeport) led the Mavericks with a game-high 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting with five rebounds. Graduate student Sara Hopkins (Mountain Top, Pa./Concordia College) netted 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting with four assists and senior Kellie Nudd (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) added 11 points. Graduate student Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) recorded 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Junior Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) chipped in seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Staten Island was led by Gia Esposito and Elizabeth Lofaro who both had a team-high 14 points.
A Talib three gave Mercy a 7-5 lead at the 6:45 mark of the first quarter. Staten Island answered with an 11-3 run to take a 16-10 lead with 3:09 left in the opening quarter. The Mavericks ended the quarter on a 6-0 run, capped off by a Tedesco layup, to head into the second quarter tied at 16-16.
A Nudd jumper to open the second quarter gave Mercy an 18-16 lead. The Mavericks later held a 20-19 lead after a Nudd layup. The Dolphins responded with a 10-1 run to take their largest lead of the game, 29-21, with 2:47 left in the opening half. Mercy closed the half on an 8-0 run, finished off by a Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) layup, to head into halftime tied at 29-29.
A Hopkins trifecta at the 7:20 mark of the third quarter gave Mercy a 37-33 lead. The Dolphins cut the deficit to two on several occasions before an Esposito layup tied the score at 47-47 with 3:08 remaining in the period. Hopkins drained a three to give Mercy a 50-47 lead, but Staten Island closed the quarter with three unanswered points to tie the game at 50-50 after three quarters.
Mercy took a 54-52 lead with 6:59 remaining after a Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) layup. The Dolphins followed with a 6-1 spurt to take a 58-55 lead with 5:13 on the clock. A three-point play by freshman Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) gave the Mavericks the lead back at 59-58 with just under five minutes to go. Lofaro came back with a three to give the hosts a 61-59 lead before Hopkins went 1-of-2 from the line to make it 61-60. Esposito later made another three to give the Dolphins a 64-60 advantage with 3:33 remaining. A Jenalyse Alarcon layup at the 2:15 mark put Staten Island up six, 66-60. Nudd got the Mavericks to within three, 66-63, after a three with 1:38 left. Nudd later made it a one-point game, 66-65, following a layup with 1:05 on the clock. However, Alarcon netted a three on the next Dolphins possession to give the hosts a 69-65 lead with 38 seconds left. Nudd went 2-of-2 from the line with 28 seconds on the clock to get Mercy within two, 69-67. Esposito then went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to give the hosts a 70-67 lead with 12 seconds left. Following a Maverick turnover, Kaia Johnson went 1-of-2 from the line to make it 71-67 with four seconds left. Time would run out on the Mavericks and Staten Island came away with the win.
Mercy shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the floor, 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from downtown and 70.8 percent (17-of-24) from the foul line. Staten Island shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the field, 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from beyond the arc and 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from the charity stripe. Rebounds were tied at 34-34.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, December 3rd when they host UDC at 12 p.m.
