AMHERST, N.Y. (Feb. 18, 2024) – Powered by a game-high-tying 20 points from junior Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam), the Mercy University women's basketball team earned a 50-44 win at first-place and regionally-ranked Daemen University on Sunday afternoon at Lumsden Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (16-8, 9-4 ECC) have won six games in a row and defeat the Wildcats (15-7, 10-3 ECC) for the first time since 2016. Mercy wins at Daemen for the first time since 2016 and the Mavericks snap the Wildcats 23-game home winning streak. Daemen last lost at home on February 18, 2022 against St. Thomas Aquinas. The Mavericks held the Wildcats to a season low in points. Mercy has secured their fourth straight ECC Tournament berth.
Mercy was led by Stanavich who had a game-high-tying 20 points with four rebounds and three blocks. Sophomore Kyla Nembach (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) had 10 points and sophomore Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) added nine points and a game-high nine rebounds. Senior Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) had four points, six rebounds and three steals and graduate student Kate Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) contributed three points, eight rebounds and two steals. Junior Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) had two points and freshman Amani Abuhatab (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) netted two points.
Daemen was led by Alahna Paige who had a game-high-tying 20 points.
The Mavericks jumped out to a 6-0 lead after back-to-back baskets from Stanavich and a jumper from Tedesco. Daemen scored the next six points to tie the game at 6-6 with 1:49 left in the first quarter. Mercy ended the quarter on a 7-0 run, capped off by a Halvorsen jumper, to take a 13-6 lead after the first quarter.
A Wall free throw to open the second quarter gave Mercy a 14-6 lead at the 9:18 mark. Abuhatab later gave the Mavericks a 16-8 lead with 7:37 left in the half before the hosts scored seven consecutive points to cut Mercy's lead to one, 16-15, with 4:22 on the clock. Two Stanavich free throws later in the half gave Mercy a 22-19 lead. A Natalie Angeletti layup at the buzzer cut the Mavericks lead to one, 22-21, at halftime.
Back-to-back jumpers from Nembach and Stanavich to open the third quarter gave Mercy a 26-21 lead. A Stanavich jumper at the 6:01 mark gave the Mavericks a 28-23 lead. However, Daemen stormed back on an 8-2 run to take a 31-30 lead with 1:45 left in the quarter. A Barrera three-point play on the next Mercy possession gave the Mavericks a 33-31 lead after three quarters.
Barrera recorded the first basket of the fourth quarter to give Mercy a 35-31 lead. A Gabby McDuffie layup made it 35-33 before two free throws from Stanavich and a three from Nembach gave the Mavericks a seven-point lead, 40-33, with 7:46 left. After a Daemen timeout, the Wildcats went on an 11-5 run to cut Mercy's lead to one, 45-44, with 24 seconds left. Nembach was fouled on the next Mavericks possession and went 1-of-2 from the line to give the Mavericks a 46-44 lead. A Paige jumper was blocked by Stanavich on the next Daemen possession and Tedesco came up with a steal and was fouled. She went 1-of-2 from the line to make it 47-44. Tedesco followed with another steal on the next Wildcat possession and went 1-of-2 again from the charity stripe to give Mercy a 48-44 lead. Paige missed a three on the next Daemen possession and Barrera went 2-of-2 from the line to finish off the 50-44 win.
Mercy shot 31.5 percent (17-of-54) from the floor, 9.1 percent (1-of-11) from downtown and 75.0 percent (15-of-20) from the foul line. Daemen shot 27.4 percent (17-of-62) from the field, 11.8 percent (2-of-17) from beyond the arc and 88.9 percent (8-of-9) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 45-33 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, February 21st when they host Queens at 7 p.m.
