AMHERST, N.Y. (Feb. 19, 2023) – Despite a career-high 18 points from sophomore Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam), the Mercy College women's basketball team dropped a 69-59 decision to ECC foe Daemen University on Sunday afternoon at Lumsden Gymnasium.

The Mavericks (15-9, 9-5 ECC) have dropped two games in a row and fall to the Wildcats (17-4, 12-3 ECC) for the 15th straight time.

Stanavich went 7-of-13 from the floor with a game-high eight rebounds and freshman Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) had 12 points. Senior Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) recorded 12 points and graduate student Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) had 10 points. Senior Kellie Nudd (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) netted three points and junior Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) and senior Asha Talib (Allentown, Pa./University of Bridgeport) both had two points and five rebounds.

Daemen was led by Mickayla Ivy who had a game-high 21 points.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 16-6 lead at the 5:50 mark of the first quarter after an Ivy jumper. Mercy followed with a 9-2 run, finished off by a Barrera layup, to cut Daemen's lead to three, 18-15, with 1:14 on the clock. The Wildcats ended the quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 24-17 lead after the first quarter.

Mercy opened the second quarter on an 8-2 run, capped off by a Bender jumper, to cut the hosts lead to one, 26-25, with 7:37 left in the quarter. The Wildcats ensued with a 7-2 run to increase the lead back to six, 33-27, with 2:42 on the clock. Two Bender free throws cut the Daemen lead to 33-29 at halftime.

A Stanavich jumper to open the third quarter got Mercy to within two, 33-31. However, the Wildcats answered with a 9-0 run to take a 42-31 lead with 6:05 remaining in the quarter. The Mavericks continued to battle and rallied with a 10-2 run, finished off by a Stanavich jumper, to cut the Daemen lead to three, 44-41, at the 2:26 mark. The Wildcats scored four unanswered points before Wall made a layup to give Daemen a 48-43 lead after three quarters.

A Bender jumper at the 8:02 mark of the fourth quarter cut the Daemen lead to one, 48-47. An Alahna Paige three on the next Daemen possession started a 7-0 run that gave the Wildcats a 55-47 advantage with 6:12 left. A pair of Barrera free throws made it 55-49 with 4:43 on the clock, but a Paige Emborsky three and Ivy layup increased the Wildcats lead back to 11, 60-49, with 3:43 left. Mercy would cut the deficit to seven, 60-53, after a Wall jumper with 2:05 remaining, but the Mavericks could not get closer and Daemen came away with the win.

Mercy shot 34.5 percent (20-of-58) from the floor, 20.0 percent (2-of-10) from downtown and 77.3 percent (17-of-22) from the foul line. Daemen shot 42.9 percent (27-of-63) from the field, 50.0 percent (6-of-12) from beyond the arc and 60.0 percent (9-of-15) from the charity stripe. Daemen held a 43-35 edge on the glass.

Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, February 22nd when they host Molloy for Senior Night at 5 p.m.