DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 21, 2024) – Powered by a double-double from sophomore Angelina Barrera (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) and a career-high 12 points from sophomore Megan Marcotte (Enfield, Conn./Enfield), the Mercy University women's basketball team earned a convincing 67-50 win over ECC foe Queens College on Wednesday night at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (17-8, 10-4 ECC) match their win total from last year, have won seven games in a row and sweep the regular season series with the Knights (7-17, 3-10 ECC) for the second straight year. Mercy capped off the first doubleheader sweep of Queens since 2012. Mercy has now recorded double-digit ECC wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history.
Mercy was led by Barrera who had a team-high 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting with a game-high 10 rebounds, five steals and two blocks. Marcotte had a career-high 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting with two blocks and junior Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) recorded 10 points and two steals. Graduate student Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) added eight points, five rebounds, four steals and a game-high 11 assists. Junior Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) scored nine points and had four assists and sophomore Kyla Nembach (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) netted four points, six rebounds and four assists. Senior Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) contributed four points and freshman Paige Fourtin (Ansonia, Conn./Greens Farms Academy) had five points.
Queens was led by Jalea Abrams who had a game-high 24 points.
The Knights took an early 4-0 lead with 6:28 left in the first quarter before Mercy scored seven unanswered points to take a 7-4 lead after a Barrera layup with 4:53 remaining in the quarter. An Abrams layup cut the Mavericks lead to one, 7-6, but six points from Marcotte and two from Barrera gave Mercy a 15-6 lead at the 1:32 mark. A Nkiru Awaka free throw made it 15-7 before a late Stanavich jumper gave the Mavericks a 17-7 lead after the first quarter.
A Nembach layup to open the second quarter gave Mercy a 19-7 lead. The Knights followed with four straight points to cut the Mavericks lead to eight, 19-11, with 7:40 left in the half. Mercy responded with an 8-0 run, finished off by a Barrera layup, to take a 27-11 lead with 3:52 on the clock. Five consecutive points from Abrams made it 27-16 at the 1:46 mark. The Mavericks ended the half on a 6-2 spurt to head into halftime with a 33-18 lead.
A Stanavich three at the 5:22 mark of the third quarter capped a 9-0 run to open the third quarter, giving Mercy a 42-18 lead. A Halvorsen three with 38 seconds left in the quarter gave the Mavericks a 27-point lead, 50-23. A pair of Abrams free throws made it 50-25 in favor of Mercy after three quarters.
A Barrera three-point play with 7:11 remaining gave Mercy their largest lead of the game, 58-30. The Knights ended the game on a 20-9 run to make it 67-50, but it was not enough, and the Mavericks earned the convincing win in front of a packed house at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
Mercy shot a season-high 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the floor, 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from downtown and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the foul line. Queens shot 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the field, 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from beyond the arc and 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from the charity stripe. Queens held a 33-30 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, February 24th when they play at Molloy at 12 p.m.
