DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 21, 2024) – Despite three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy University women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 55-51 decision to defending ECC Champion Daemen University on Sunday afternoon at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (10-7, 3-3 ECC) have dropped two of their last three games and fall at home for the first time this season. The Wildcats (10-5, 5-1 ECC) have now won 16 straight meetings against Mercy.
Mercy was led by junior Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) who had a team-high 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting with two steals. Sophomore Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) added a double-double by way of 12 points and 11 rebounds and had three blocks and four steals. Sophomore Kyla Nembach (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) scored a career-high 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and graduate student Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) netted five points and four assists. Junior Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) chipped in five points and senior Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) contributed three points.
Daemen was led by Alahna Paige who had a game-high 20 points.
Daemen held an early 5-3 lead with 6:41 left in the opening quarter. The Mavericks answered with a 10-0 run, capped off by a Stanavich layup, to take a 13-5 lead with 3:03 remaining in the quarter. The Wildcats scored four unanswered points to make it 13-9 before two Barrera free throws gave Mercy a 15-9 lead after the first quarter.
The Wildcats scored the first five points of the second quarter to cut the Mavericks lead to one, 15-14, at the 9:19 mark. A Nembach three and free throw increased the Mercy lead to five, 19-14, before Daemen rallied with an 8-3 run to tie the game at 22-22 with 1:24 remaining in the half. A Barrera layup and Nembach three at the buzzer gave the Mavericks a 27-22 lead at halftime.
Paige began the second half with a layup to get the Wildcats within three, 27-24. Three straight baskets from Barrera, Nembach and Tedesco gave Mercy their largest lead of the game, 33-24, with 8:05 left in the third quarter. Daemen ended the quarter on a 19-3 run to take a 43-36 lead after three quarters of play.
A Stanavich jumper to open the fourth quarter cut the Daemen lead to five, 43-38, with 9:17 remaining. The Wildcats ensued with a 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 49-38, with 4:27 left to play. Daemen later held a 51-40 advantage at the 3:32 mark before Mercy came back on an 11-1 run, finished off by a Stanavich layup, to cut the Wildcats lead to one, 52-51, with 27 seconds left. Two free throws from Gabby McDuffie gave the visitors a 54-51 lead with 20 seconds on the clock. Wall had a game-tying three rim in and out on the next Mercy possession and Daemen recorded the defensive rebound. McDuffie was fouled again and went 1-of-2 from the line to seal the 55-51 win for Daemen.
Mercy shot 34.0 percent (18-of-53) from the floor, 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from downtown and 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the foul line. Daemen shot 41.2 percent (21-of-51) from the field, 25.0 percent (4-of-16) from beyond the arc and 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from the charity stripe. Daemen held a 41-31 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, January 24th when they play at Staten Island at 5:30 p.m.
