DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 3, 2024) – Powered by a career-high 23 points and 13 rebounds from sophomore Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic), the Mercy University women's basketball team earned a 78-68 win over Caldwell University in their first game of 2024 on Wednesday night at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (8-5) snap a three-game losing streak and defeat the Cougars (3-7) for the first time since 2019.
Mercy was led by Barrera who went 9-of-17 from the floor and added one block and two assists. Graduate student Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) recorded 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and a game-high five steals and junior Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) netted 15 points and five rebounds. Junior Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) chipped in nine points in eight minutes off the bench and sophomore Megan Marcotte (Enfield, Conn./Enfield) had a season-high six points on 3-of-4 shooting. Freshman Paige Fourtin (Ansonia, Conn./Greens Farms Academy) scored five points and dished out three assists and freshmen Molly Boek (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) and Amani Abuhatab (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) both netted two points.
Caldwell was led by Jahnel Lewis who had a game-high 26 points.
Stanavich scored back-to-back baskets to open the game, giving Mercy a 4-0 lead with 7:38 left in the first quarter. Caldwell answered with an 8-0 run to take an 8-4 lead with 3:59 on the clock before three straight baskets from Barrera gave the Mavericks a 10-8 lead at the 2:39 mark. A Fourtin three with 1:24 left in the quarter gave Mercy a 13-10 lead. However, the Cougars scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 14-13 lead after one quarter of play.
Marcotte opened the second quarter with a layup to give the Mavericks a 15-14 lead. Caldwell later regained the lead and built it to four, 21-17, with 7:11 left in the first half. Mercy came back on a 9-0 run to take a 26-21 lead after a Boek layup with 4:41 on the clock. Barrera drained another layup to give Mercy a five-point lead once again, 28-23. The Cougars rallied with an 8-3 run to tie the game at 31-31 before a three-point play from Wall and a Barrera layup gave the Mavericks a 36-31 lead at halftime.
A Wall jumper to open the second half gave Mercy a 38-31 lead. The Cougars ensued with a 5-2 spurt to cut the deficit to four, 40-36, with 8:31 left in the third quarter. The Mavericks rallied with two Barrera buckets and a Fourtin layup to increase the lead to 10, 46-36, at the 6:41 mark. Caldwell netted the next four points to make it 46-40, but Mercy scored the next six points, capped off by a Marcotte layup, to take a 52-40 lead with 1:50 on the clock. The Mavericks headed into the fourth quarter with a 54-45 lead after a pair of Barrera free throws.
Barrera drained two free throws to open the fourth quarter, giving Mercy a 56-45 lead. Caldwell later cut the deficit to seven, 58-51, following an Amyah Bray three with 7:25 remaining. However, the Mavericks quickly answered with an 8-0 run, finished off by a Halvorsen three, to take their largest lead of the game, 66-51, with 4:41 left to play. The Cougars battled back and cut the Mercy lead to seven, 70-63, with 41 seconds left, but the Mavericks went 8-of-8 from the foul line in the final 41 seconds of action to earn the 78-68 win.
Mercy shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) from the floor, 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from downtown and 90.9 percent (20-of-22) from the foul line. Caldwell shot 34.8 percent (24-of-69) from the field, 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from beyond the arc and 69.6 percent (16-of-23) from the charity stripe. Rebounds were tied at 43-43.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, January 12th when they play at Roberts Wesleyan at 6 p.m.
