SPARKILL, N.Y. (Dec. 2, 2023) – Despite a game-high 28 points and a team-high 10 rebounds from graduate student Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham), the Mercy University women's basketball team dropped a 73-59 decision at St. Thomas Aquinas College in their ECC opener on Saturday afternoon at Aquinas Hall Gym.
The Mavericks (6-2, 0-1 ECC) have dropped two of their last three games and drop their ECC opener. The Spartans (3-4, 1-0 ECC) have won two of their last three games.
Wall led Mercy with 28 points and 10 rebounds. With her four three-pointers in today's game, Wall sets a new school record for career three-pointers with 193. She surpasses the previous record of 189 set by Ashley Borofsky in 2011. Junior Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) recorded 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds and sophomore Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) netted 12 points and seven rebounds. Senior Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) added three points, eight rebounds and four assists.
St. Thomas Aquinas was led by Trinity Cheatom who had a team-high 21 points.
The Spartans held a 4-0 lead just over a minute in and later held a 10-3 lead with seven minutes left in the first quarter. Mercy answered with a 9-0 run, capped off by a Wall three, to take a 12-10 lead with 4:24 remaining in the quarter. A Sarah Ericson jumper tied the score at 12-12 before Wall drained another three to give the Mavericks a 15-12 lead. A Cheatom triple tied the game again at 15-15 before Wall gave Mercy a 17-15 lead after a jumper. The score was tied again at 17-17 before Wall made a pair of free throws to cap a 19-point quarter for the graduate student, giving Mercy a 19-17 lead with 50 seconds on the clock. A late Angelique Holguin layup tied the game at 19-19 after the first quarter.
St. Thomas Aquinas scored the first five points of the second quarter to take a 24-19 lead with eight minutes left in the half. A Barrera jumper and Barrera three-point play tied the game at 24-24 before a Stanavich free throw put the Mavericks up, 25-24, with 5:23 on the clock. Mercy later held a 27-26 lead before the Spartans answered with a 9-2 run to take a 35-29 lead with 1:45 left in the half. Two Wall free throws made it 37-33 in favor of the hosts with 18 seconds left. A Cheatom jumper gave St. Thomas Aquinas a 39-33 lead at halftime.
Mercy opened the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 42-39 lead with seven minutes on the clock following a Stanavich jumper. The Spartans responded with a 6-1 run to take a 45-43 lead at the 4:36 mark. The Mavericks regained the lead at 48-47 with 1:18 remaining after a Wall free throw, but St. Thomas Aquinas recorded the next five points to take a 52-48 lead. A Wall jumper cut the Spartans lead to two, 52-50, after three quarters.
A Stanavich jumper with 7:20 remaining cut the Spartans lead to one, 56-55. St. Thomas Aquinas would end the game on a 17-4 run to pull away from Mercy and earn the 73-59 win.
Mercy shot 37.3 percent (19-of-51) from the floor, 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from downtown and 66.7 percent (16-of-24) from the foul line. St. Thomas Aquinas shot 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the field, 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from beyond the arc and 90.0 percent (18-of-20) from the charity stripe. Rebounds were tied at 35-35 and the Spartans used 21 Mercy turnovers to hold a 24-10 edge in points off turnovers.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, December 6th when they host Staten Island at 5 p.m.
