JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Jan. 2, 2023) – Powered by a game-high 22 points and five steals from senior Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham), the Mercy College women's basketball team opened 2023 with a 67-55 win at Alliance University on Monday night at the John J. Moore Center.
The Mavericks (7-6) have won two games in a row and three of their last four games. Mercy starts 7-6 for the second straight season and defeat Alliance (1-8) for the fourth straight time.
Wall went 8-of-14 from the floor with five rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) added eight points and three rebounds and graduate student Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) had eight points. Freshman Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) recorded eight points and senior Asha Talib (Allentown, Pa./University of Bridgeport) posted seven points and five rebounds. Freshman Megan Marcotte (Enfield, Conn./Enfield) contributed a career-high seven points and five rebounds and junior Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) had a game-high-tying six rebounds.
Alliance was led by Ashlyn Mesidor who had a team-high 20 points.
Alliance jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 7:08 left in the first quarter. Mercy closed the quarter on an 11-3 run, capped off by a Wall free throw, to take an 11-10 lead after the first quarter.
The Mavericks scored the first four points of the second quarter to take a 15-10 lead with 8:47 left in the half after a Barrera jumper. Alliance answered with a 10-4 run to take a 20-19 lead at the 4:54 mark. The hosts later held a 25-24 lead before Mercy ended the half with four straight points, finished off by a Wall jumper, to take a 28-25 lead at halftime.
Alliance opened the third quarter with three points in a row to tie the game at 28-28. Wall gave the Mavericks the lead back at 31-28 with a three at the 7:48 mark. Alliance tied the game back up at 31-31 before a Bender jumper gave the Mavericks a 33-31 advantage. The hosts would battle back and tie the game again at 39-39 with 3:47 remaining in the quarter. Back-to-back baskets from Stanavich and Wall put the Mavericks up four, 43-39, with 3:15 on the clock. Mercy later held a 45-41 lead before ending the quarter on a 9-3 run, finished off by a Wall jumper, to take a 54-44 lead after three quarters.
The Mavericks began the fourth quarter on an 8-4 spurt to take their largest lead of the game, 62-48, with 3:32 left after a pair of Barrera free throws. Alliance scored the next five points to cut the Mercy lead to single digits, 62-53, with two minutes left. A Wall free throw and a pair of Barrera free throws gave the Mavericks a 12-point lead, 65-53, with one minute left. Alliance could not get closer than 10 points and Mercy came away with the 67-55 win.
Mercy shot 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the floor, 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from downtown and 69.2 percent (18-of-26) from the foul line. Alliance shot 45.7 percent (21-of-46) from the field, 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from beyond the arc and 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 40-29 edge on the glass and a 16-3 edge in second chance points.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, January 6th when they host Roberts Wesleyan at 5 p.m.
