ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Feb. 24, 2024) – Powered by a double-double from graduate student Katie Wall (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) and junior Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) and sophomore Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) scoring in double figures, the Mercy University women's basketball team earned their eighth straight win with a 73-54 win at ECC foe Molloy University on Saturday afternoon at Quealy Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (18-8, 11-4 ECC) have won eight games in a row and have their most wins in a season since the 1985-86 season. Mercy sweeps the season series with the Lions (10-15, 4-10 ECC) for the second straight year.
Mercy was led by Wall who had a game-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the foul line with a game-high 10 rebounds to go with three assists. Stanavich netted 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting with six rebounds and three steals and Barrera recorded 11 points, five rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Megan Marcotte (Enfield, Conn./Enfield) added eight points, five rebounds and two blocks and sophomore Kyla Nembach (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) chipped in six points. Freshman Amani Abuhatab (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) had six points and senior Maria Tedesco (Ocean Township, N.J./St. Rose) contributed four points. Junior Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) and freshman Molly Boek (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) each had two points.
Molloy was led by Trinity Hudson who had a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lions jumped out to a 14-8 lead at the 3:58 mark of the first quarter after a Janel Moore jumper, leading to a Mercy timeout. Following the timeout, the Mavericks ended the quarter on a 9-0 run, capped off by an Abuhatab three, to take a 17-14 lead after the first quarter.
A Stanavich jumper at the 8:21 mark of the second quarter capped a 15-0 run from the 3:58 mark of the first quarter and gave Mercy a 23-14 lead. The Lions cut the Mavericks lead to five, 27-22, with 5:28 left in the half after an Isabel Sanchez layup. However, Mercy rallied with a 10-2 run, finished off by two Wall free throws, to increase the lead to 13, 37-24, with 2:55 remaining in the half. Molloy later cut the Mavericks lead to nine, 41-32, but a late Wall free throw gave Mercy a 42-32 lead at halftime.
The hosts opened the third quarter with four straight points to cut Mercy's lead to six, 42-36, at the 8:30 mark. The Mavericks came right back on a 17-2 run, capped off by a Wall three, to build the lead to 21, 59-38, with 2:54 remaining in the quarter. Molloy ended the quarter with a 6-0 run to cut Mercy's lead to 15, 59-44, after three quarters.
Mercy began the fourth quarter on a 9-1 run to take a game-high 23-point lead, 68-45, with 6:12 left after a Wall three. Two Barrera free throws at the 5:28 mark made it 70-47 before Molloy went on a 7-3 spurt to make it 73-54 with 25 seconds left. However, that was not enough, and the Mavericks earned the convincing 73-54 road win.
Mercy shot 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the floor, 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from downtown and 79.2 percent (19-of-24) from the foul line. Molloy shot 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the field, 20.0 percent (2-of-10) from beyond the arc and 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 39-35 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, March 2nd when they host St. Thomas Aquinas for Senior Day at 3 p.m.
