FAIRFIELD, Conn. (Dec. 31, 2023) – Despite a game-high 18 points from graduate student Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham), the Mercy University women's basketball team dropped a 73-41 decision to Division I Sacred Heart University in an Exhibition in their final game of 2023 on Sunday afternoon at the William H. Pitt Center.
The game does not count towards Mercy's record but does count towards the Pioneers (6-8). The defending Northeast Conference (NEC) Champions and 2023 NCAA Division I Tournament participant Sacred Heart defeat the Mavericks for the second straight year.
Mercy was led by Wall who had a game-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the foul line to go along with a team-high three assists. Junior Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) netted six points and a team-high-tying five rebounds and freshman Molly Boek (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) recorded five points and three rebounds. Senior Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) added four points and a team-high-tying five rebounds and sophomore Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) contributed four points and four rebounds. Sophomore Megan Marcotte (Enfield, Conn./Enfield) and freshman Paige Fourtin (Ansonia, Conn./Greens Farms Academy) each produced two points.
Sacred Heart was led by Ny'Ceara Pryor who had a team-high 13 points.
A Stanavich jumper at the 9:31 mark tied the game at 2-2. Sacred Heart went on a 12-2 run to take a 14-4 lead with 3:02 left in the first quarter. A Barrera jumper and Wall three cut the Pioneers lead to five, 14-9, with 1:42 remaining in the quarter. A Nalyce Dudley jumper gave Sacred Heart a 16-9 lead after the first quarter.
Two Wall free throws with 8:19 left in the half cut the hosts lead to six, 17-11. The Pioneers closed the half on a 21-5 run to take a 38-16 lead at halftime.
Sacred Heart began the third quarter on a 16-2 run to increase their lead to 36, 54-18, with 5:28 left in the quarter. The Pioneers entered the fourth quarter with a 60-28 lead.
The Pioneers scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to build their lead to a game-high 37 points, 65-28, with 7:26 left. Mercy continued to battle and went on an 11-4 run, capped off by a Wall layup, to cut the deficit to 30, 69-39, with 2:29 left. Sacred Heart scored four of the final six points to earn the 73-41 win.
Mercy shot 27.1 percent (13-of-48) from the floor, 6.7 percent (1-of-15) from downtown and 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from the foul line. Sacred Heart shot 50.8 percent (32-of-63) from the field, 20.0 percent (2-of-10) from beyond the arc and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from the charity stripe. Sacred Heart held a 41-30 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, January 3rd when they host Caldwell in their first game of 2023 at 5 p.m.
