DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 22, 2023) – Powered by a combined 41 points from the seniors on Senior Night, the Mercy College women's basketball team earned a 59-48 win over ECC foe Molloy University on Wednesday night at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
In a ceremony prior to the game, seniors Taysha Bender (Glen Burnie, Md./Archbishop Spalding), Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham), Kellie Nudd (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy), Briana Barnard (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic), Sara Hopkins (Mountain Top, Pa./Concordia College) and Brianne Santos (Elmont, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) were recognized for their contributions to the program.
The Mavericks (16-9, 10-5 ECC) snap a two-game losing streak and sweeps the season series with the Lions (5-19, 4-11 ECC) for the first time since 2001 and earn their first home win over Molloy since 2011. The Mavericks now have their most ECC wins in a season since 1997.
Leading the way for Mercy was Bender who had a game-high 12 points with a team-high-tying seven rebounds. Wall had 11 points, five rebounds and a game-high five assists and Nudd had 10 points and four rebounds. Sophomore Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) netted eight points, a team-high-tying seven rebounds and a game-high five steals. Barnard and freshman Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) both had five points and junior Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) had four points. Hopkins contributed three points and senior Asha Talib (Allentown, Pa./University of Bridgeport) had one point and six rebounds. Santos added one steal.
Molloy was led by Samantha Muller and Rosa Rizzitelli who both had a team-high 10 points.
The Lions jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 6:46 left in the first quarter before Mercy scored nine straight point to take a 9-7 lead with 3:32 on the clock after a Bender three-point play. Molloy went on a 6-1 run to take a 13-10 lead before a Bender jumper at the buzzer cut the Lions lead to 13-12 after one quarter.
Molloy held a 17-14 lead with 6:26 left in the half. The Mavericks would close the half on a 13-0 run to take a 27-17 lead at halftime.
A Bender three at the 8:28 mark of the third quarter gave Mercy their largest lead of the game, 32-17. The Mavericks later held a 38-23 lead after a Wall layup with 2:56 on the clock. The Lions closed the quarter on a 10-2 run to cut Mercy's lead to seven, 40-33, after three quarters.
A Hopkins three-point play with 8:12 left gave Mercy a 45-35 lead. A Tedesco layup at the 6:19 mark later increased the Mavericks lead to 14, 51-37. The Lions stormed back on an 11-2 run to cut Mercy's lead to five, 53-48, with 2:13 left. Nudd drained a big three at the 1:06 mark to put the Mavericks up eight, 56-48, and Talib and Wall combined to make three free throws to give Mercy the win.
Mercy shot 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the floor, 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from downtown and 73.1 percent (19-of-26) from the foul line. Molloy shot 31.0 percent (18-of-58) from the field, 20.0 percent (2-of-10) from beyond the arc and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 45-35 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, February 25th when they play at Queens at 3:30 p.m.
