DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (July 27, 2022) – For the seventh year, Mercy College Athletics will recap the year by counting down the Top-10 most memorable moments of the 2021-22 season, with all 10 sports represented.
Mercy College Athletics will release a Top-10 moment, as chosen by the athletics staff, with a recap every Wednesday and Friday for the next five weeks, culminating with the top moment from the 2021-22 athletic year being unveiled on Friday, August 5th.
No. 4 – Women's Basketball Makes ECC Championship and Wins Most Games Since 1997
Coming in at No. 4 in our 2021-22 Top-10 Moments is women's basketball who qualified for the ECC Championship and won their most games in a season since 1997.
The Mavericks went 1-8 during the COVID-19 shortened season in 2020-21 and played in the ECC Championship for the first time since 2009. Every team made the ECC Championship in 2020-21 and Mercy was looking to make the tournament for the first time without every team making it since 2009. The Mavericks were picked seventh in the ECC Preseason Poll and looked to prove the conference's coaches wrong.
Mercy opened their 2021-22 season on November 12th against 2021 NCAA Tournament participant Dominican. The Mavericks held their own before falling 86-79. Katie Wall had a game-high 24 points and six steals in the loss. The next day, Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks faced another 2021 NCAA Tournament participant in American International. Mercy had three score in double figures, but the Mavericks dropped a 66-53 decision to fall to 0-2 on the year.
Lagas and the Mavericks opened their home schedule on November 17th against Felician. Mercy cruised to an 84-63 win powered by a game-high 23 points and seven assists from Wall. The 21-point win was at this point the largest margin of victory for Mercy since an 83-56 win over New Rochelle on February 14, 2018. The Mavericks continued their winning ways on November 20th with a 64-58 win at Goldey-Beacom. Wall had another strong game with a game-high 25 points as Mercy moved to 2-2 on the year for the first time since 2017-18. After the strong week, Wall and Asha Talib were named ECC Player and Defensive Players of the Week.
The Mavericks dropped their next three games against Caldwell, Assumption and Bloomfield to fall to 2-5 on the year. Mercy looked to be headed to another long season, but the Mavericks regrouped and opened ECC play with a 66-57 win over perennial ECC power St. Thomas Aquinas on December 8th. The Mavericks won their ECC opener for the first time since 2009 and improved to 3-5 on the year.
Mercy stepped out of conference play to face 2022 NCAA Tournament participant Chestnut Hill on December 11th. Taysha Bender had 10 points, but the Mavericks dropped a 58-39 decision. Mercy resumed ECC play on December 17th when they hosted the defending ECC Champions and 2021 NCAA Tournament participant Roberts Wesleyan. Bender had a team-high 19 points as the Mavericks earned a 68-63 win. The win moved Mercy to 2-0 in ECC play for the first time since 1992 and the Mavericks defeated the Redhawks for the first time in program history. Mercy was previously 0-16 all-time against Robert Wesleyan.
The Mavericks extended their winning streak to two games with a 67-62 win at Bridgeport on December 19th. Talib and Wall both had double-doubles and Kellie Nudd posted 17 points. Mercy had now started 3-0 in ECC play for the first time since the 1992-93 season and sat at 5-6 overall.
Mercy had nearly a month-long break before playing at Molloy on January 10th. Nudd and Bender both had a team-high 19 points as the Mavericks earned a 61-57 win against the Lions. Mercy improved to 4-0 in ECC play for the first time since 1990-91 and had recorded their most ECC wins in a season since 2010-11. The Mavericks had also defeated Molloy for the first time since 2016.
Lagas led the Mavericks into their game against Staten Island on January 12th looking to move over .500 on the year. Mercy fell behind by 19 points in the second half but was able to pull off a monumental comeback to earn a 67-63 win over the Dolphins. Wall had a game-high 23 points as the Mavericks moved to 5-0 in ECC play for the first time ever. Mercy at 7-6 was off to their best 13-game start since 2015 and the Mavericks now had their most ECC wins in a season since the 2008-09 season. The 19-point deficit overcome was the largest comeback since they overcame a 23-point deficit on February 4, 2012 against New York Tech.
The Mavericks continued to impress as they earned a 77-64 win over UDC on January 15th to improve to 6-0 in ECC play and 8-6 overall. Wall had a career-high 28 points and Bender added a career-high 26 points in the win. Mercy's win streak had reached five games and the Mavericks were off to their best 14-game start since the 1992-93 season. Following the win over UDC, Wall was named ECC Player of the Week for the second time.
Mercy looked to extend their winning streak to six games and had no problem as they dominated Queens, earning a 99-60 win with all 11 Mavericks scoring. Mercy sat at 9-6 for the first time since the 1988-89 season and the Mavericks continued their best start in ECC play at 7-0. The 99 points scored were the most scored since scoring 100 against Post on February 25, 2014. The 39-point win was the largest win for the Mavericks since defeating Maine Fort Kent, 96-39, on January 7, 2017. The 39-point win was also the largest win in ECC play for Mercy since a 97-40 win over Concordia on February 15, 2001. The Mavericks now had their most wins in a season since the 2014-15 season.
Lagas and the Mavericks continued to roll, building their win streak to seven games in a row after an 81-54 win over D'Youville on January 21st. Bender had a double-double in the win and Wall had a team-high 20 points. The seven-game winning streak was the program's longest since the 1984-85 season and the Mavericks were 10-6 for the first time since the 1987-88 season. The eight ECC wins were their most in a season since the 1999-00 season and the Mavericks had their most overall wins in a season since the 2008-09 season.
In a highly anticipated matchup of ECC unbeatens, the Mavericks hosted perennial East Region power Daemen who was 6-0 in ECC play entering the teams' matchup on January 23rd. Mercy opened the game with a 14-2 lead and held a 16-10 lead after the first quarter. The Wildcats took the lead for good in the second quarter and handed the Mavericks their first ECC loss of the season by a score of 55-51.
Following Mercy's historic start to the season, the Mavericks were receiving votes in the D2SIDA East Region Top 10 Poll for the first time since the 2014-15 season. Mercy looked to get back in the win column and sweep the season series with Roberts Wesleyan. However, despite a team-high 17 points from Wall the Mavericks dropped a heartbreaking 57-55 decision to the Redhawks.
Mercy dropped their next six games to Bridgeport, St. Thomas Aquinas, Queens, Molloy, D'Youville and Daemen to sit at 10-14 overall and 8-8 in ECC play, heading into their final home game of the season. The Mavericks entered their last home game against Staten Island on an eight-game losing streak. However, Wall had a game-high 27 points to help lead Mercy to a 61-44 win over the Dolphins. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak and gave the Mavericks their most overall wins and most ECC wins since the 1996-97 season. The 44 points allowed was the fewest allowed since 2017.
The Mavericks fell in their regular season finale to UDC, 65-51, on February 26th. Mercy concluded the regular season with an 11-15 record overall and 9-9 mark in ECC play. The Mavericks ended the regular season with their most overall wins and most ECC wins since the 1996-97 season. Mercy earned the No. 5 seed in the following week's ECC Championship and would play at No. 4 seed Roberts Wesleyan on March 2nd.
Lagas led the Mavericks into the ECC Championship for the first time without every team making it since 2009. Wall had a team-high 20 points, but Mercy dropped a 70-64 decision to Roberts Wesleyan, ending their season in the First Round of the ECC Women's Basketball Championship. The Mavericks ended their season 11-16 overall with their most overall wins in a season since 1997 and their nine ECC wins were also the most since 1997.
Wall was named First Team All-ECC and First Team All-Met and Bender was tabbed Second Team All-ECC and Second Team All-Met.
Mercy has consistently improved under the leadership of Lagas and the Mavericks look to take the next step as a program during the 2022-23 season.
Schedule for the Top-10 Moments of the 2021-22 Season
Every Wednesday and Friday for the next five weeks, the Mercy College Athletic Department will release the Top-10 moments one at a time beginning with the No. 10 moment on Wednesday, July 6th. The No. 1 moment will be unveiled on Friday, August 5th.
No. 1 - August 5th
No. 2 - August 3rd
No. 3 - July 29th
No. 4 - July 27th
No. 5 - Baseball Qualifies for ECC Championship for Second Straight Season
No. 6 - Volleyball Makes ECC Championship for Second Straight Season
No. 7 - Softball Makes ECC Championship for Second Straight Year
No. 8 - Men's Soccer Nearly Qualifies for ECC Championship
No. 9 - Field Hockey Wins at No. 9 American International
No. 10 – Men's Basketball Sweeps Molloy for First Time Since 2005
