WATERBURY, Conn. (Dec. 21, 2024) – Powered by senior Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) and junior Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) scoring in double figures, the Mercy University women's basketball team earned a 71-60 win at Post University in their final game of 2024 on Saturday afternoon at the Drubner Center.
The Mavericks (7-5) have won four of their last five games and start 7-5 for the second straight year. Mercy defeats the Eagles (1-11) for the third straight time.
Mercy was led by Stanavich who had a game-high and season-high 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting with a game-high nine rebounds. Barrera added 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor and 7-of-7 shooting from the foul line. Sophomore Grace Lesko (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) scored nine points and senior Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) had eight points, five rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Amani Abuhatab (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) contributed five points and five rebounds and sophomore Paige Fourtin (Ansonia, Conn./Greens Farms Academy) scored five points. Junior Megan Marcotte (Enfield, Conn./Enfield) finished with four points and four rebounds.
Post was led by Jasmine Day-Cox who had a team-high 17 points.
Mercy scored the first nine points of the game to take a 9-0 lead following a Barrera layup with 7:19 left in the first quarter. A Barrera layup at the 4:44 mark gave Mercy a 13-4 lead before the Eagles ended the quarter on an 8-2 run to cut the Mavericks' lead to three, 15-12, after the first quarter.
The Mavericks opened the second quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 23-14 lead after a Lesko jumper with 6:32 left in the half. A Naj White jumper at the 3:59 mark made it 23-18, but a three from Stanavich and a layup from Marcotte gave Mercy their largest lead of the half, 28-18, with 2:22 on the clock. Post closed the half on a 5-0 run to trim Mercy's lead to five, 28-23, at halftime.
A Day-Cox layup to begin the third quarter cut Mercy's lead to three, 28-25. The Mavericks scored the next five points, finished off by a Barrera three-point play, to take a 33-25 lead at the 8:34 mark. A Nicole Parks layup with 5:11 left in the quarter made it 37-33 in favor of Mercy. A Lesko three-point play and Stanavich layup made it 42-33 with 3:04 on the clock before a White layup made it 42-35. Back-to-back baskets from Barrera and Stanavich made it 46-35 and the Mavericks headed into the fourth quarter with a 48-37 lead after a late Stanavich layup.
The Eagles scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to make it 48-43 with 8:27 left. Mercy followed with a 7-2 run, capped off by two Stanavich free throws, to increase the lead to 10, 55-45, at the 6:07 mark. Two Alyssa Rossignol free throws with 3:53 left got the hosts to within six, 58-52. However, the Mavericks stormed back on a 10-0 run, finished off by an Abuhatab free throw, to take a game-high 16-point lead, 68-52, with 1:31 left. Post ended the game on an 8-3 run to make it 71-60, but it was not enough, and Mercy earned the 71-60 road win.
Mercy shot 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the floor, 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from downtown and 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the foul line. Post shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the field, 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from beyond the arc and 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the charity stripe. Post held a 38-30 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Thursday, January 2nd when they host East Stroudsburg at 5 p.m.
