BUFFALO, N.Y. (Dec. 13, 2024) – Powered by a game-high 20 points from sophomore Amani Abuhatab (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) and a double-double from senior Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam), the Mercy University women's basketball team earned a 64-50 win at ECC foe D'Youville University on Friday night at Saints Center Gym.
The Mavericks (6-4, 2-0 ECC) have won three games in a row and five of their last six games. Mercy starts 2-0 in ECC play for the first time since 2021 and have won two straight meetings against the Saints (2-8, 0-3 ECC). The Mavericks held the Saints scoreless in the first quarter, marking the first time in program history that Mercy held an opponent scoreless in a quarter. The 13 points Mercy allowed in the first half is the fewest allowed in the first half since they allowed 13 points against Molloy on February 4, 2017.
Mercy was led by Abuhatab who had a game-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting with four rebounds and two steals. Stanavich had a double-double by way of 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds and junior Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) recorded 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor and 7-of-10 shooting from the line. Sophomore Grace Lesko (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) added nine points on 4-of-7 shooting with four rebounds and senior Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) contributed six points and a game-high-tying four assists. Sophomore Molly Boek (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) netted two points and four rebounds.
D'Youville was led by Sofie Fuglsang who had a team-high 18 points.
An Abuhatab layup at the 8:26 mark of the first quarter gave Mercy a 2-0 lead and the Mavericks closed the quarter with the next 15 points to take a 17-0 lead after one quarter of play. Mercy held D'Youville to 0-of-13 shooting in the quarter and gave the Mavericks their first scoreless quarter allowed in program history.
A Lesko layup and Halvorsen three to start the second quarter gave Mercy a 22-0 lead with 8:13 left in the half. A Fuglsang layup ended the Mavericks 22-0 run to start the game and made it 22-2 at the 7:45 mark. Back-to-back threes from Stanavich and Abuhatab increased the Mavericks' lead to a game-high 26 points, 28-2, with 6:50 left in the half. D'Youville scored the next eight points to make it 28-10 before a free throw from Barrera and two straight Abuhatab layups increased the Mercy lead back to 23, 33-10, with 3:18 remaining in the half. The Mavericks headed into halftime with a 35-13 lead, surrendering their fewest points in the first half since 2017.
The Saints opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run to cut the Mercy lead to 14, 35-21, with 7:37 on the clock. A Lesko three on the next Mercy possession made it 38-21 and a Barrera jumper at the 6:19 mark made it 40-23. D'Youville ended the quarter on an 11-6 run to cut the Mavericks' lead to 12, 46-34, after three quarters.
Back-to-back baskets from Abuhatab and Stanavich to open the fourth quarter made it 50-34 with 8:24 left. A Megan Fedor three made it 50-37, but baskets from Lesko and Stanavich gave Mercy a 54-37 lead with 5:59 remaining. Two Barrera free throws with 3:43 left gave Mercy a 58-39 lead. The Saints followed with a 9-3 run to make it 61-48 with 1:22 remaining. Two free throws from Abuhatab and one from Stanavich gave the Mavericks a 64-48 lead and a late Allie Hall layup wasn't enough, giving Mercy the 64-50 road win.
Mercy shot 50.0 percent (24-of-48) from the floor, 40.0 percent (6-of-15) from downtown and 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from the foul line. D'Youville shot 31.3 percent (20-of-64) from the field, 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from beyond the arc and 60.0 percent (3-of-5) from the charity stripe. D'Youville held a 35-34 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Sunday, December 15th when they play at Daemen at 11 a.m.
