WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 28, 2023) – Despite senior Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) and freshman Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) scoring in double figures, the Mercy College women's basketball team dropped an 86-65 decision to ECC foe University of the District of Columbia on Saturday afternoon at the Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson Sports Complex.
The Mavericks (13-7, 7-3 ECC) see their eight-game winning streak come to an end and split the season series with the Firebirds (11-10, 6-4 ECC).
Wall had 12 points and four assists and Barrera added 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Junior Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) had nine points and five rebounds and graduate student Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) had seven points and five rebounds. Sophomore Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) had six points, five rebounds and four assists and senior Kellie Nudd (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) had four points and a team-high six rebounds. Senior Asha Talib (Allentown, Pa./University of Bridgeport) scored four points and graduate student Sara Hopkins (Mountain Top, Pa./Concordia College) chipped in four points.
UDC was led by Destiny Ryles who had a game-high 32 points and eight assists.
Mercy held a 12-9 lead with 3:33 left in the first quarter after a Bender three. The Firebirds answered with a 12-3 run to take a 21-15 lead with 29 seconds left in the quarter. A late Wall three cut the UDC lead to three, 21-18, after one quarter of play.
UDC opened the second quarter on a 22-6 run to take a 43-24 lead with 1:11 left in the half. A Barrera layup with 29 seconds left in the half cut the Firebirds lead to 17, 43-26, at halftime.
The Firebirds started the third quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 49-28 lead with 7:58 left in the period. The Mavericks rallied with a 15-4 run, capped off by a pair of Briana Barnard (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) free throws, to cut UDC's lead to 10, 53-43, with four minutes remaining in the quarter. UDC scored the next two points to take a 55-43 lead before a Barrera layup once again made it a 10-point game, 55-45, with two minutes on the clock. UDC ensued with a 14-2 run to take their largest lead of the game, 69-47, with 10 seconds remaining. A pair of Hopkins free throws trimmed the Firebirds lead to 20, 69-49, after three quarters.
The Mavericks began the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run to get within 12, 71-59, with 6:25 left after a pair of Tedesco free throws. The Firebirds would end the game on a 15-6 run to pull away from Mercy and earn the 86-65 win.
Mercy shot 34.5 percent (20-of-58) from the floor, 15.8 percent (3-of-19) from downtown and 88.0 percent (22-of-25) from the foul line. UDC shot 50.0 percent (33-of-66) from the field, 70.0 percent (7-of-10) from beyond the arc and 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from the charity stripe. Rebounds were tied at 39-39. UDC used 21 Mercy turnovers to hold a 25-10 edge in points off turnovers.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, February 4th when they play at Roberts Wesleyan at 2 p.m.
