DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 2, 2025) – Powered by a career-high 22 points from sophomore Grace Lesko (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area), the Mercy University women's basketball team opened 2025 with a 68-62 win over East Stroudsburg University on Thursday night at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (8-5) have won two games in a row and start 8-5 for the second straight year. The Warriors (4-7) have lost five of their last six games.
Mercy was led by Lesko who had a career-high 22 points on 13-of-14 shooting from the foul line and 4-of-6 shooting from the floor in 24 minutes off the bench. Senior Jaclyn Stanavich (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds and junior Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) recorded 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting with six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Senior Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) scored five points and sophomores Paige Fourtin (Ansonia, Conn./Greens Farms Academy) and Molly Boek (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) both had four points. Sophomore Amani Abuhatab (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) and freshman Morgan Miller (Branford, Conn./Sacred Heart Academy) each had three points and junior Megan Marcotte (Enfield, Conn./Enfield) contributed two points.
East Stroudsburg was led by Emily Chmiel who had a game-high 30 points and 14 rebounds.
The score was tied at 6-6 after two Fourtin free throws with 7:12 left in the first quarter before the Warriors scored 10 straight points to take a 16-6 lead with 3:05 remaining in the quarter. Mercy ended the quarter on a 10-4 run to cut the East Stroudsburg lead to four, 20-16, at the end of the opening quarter.
An Abuhatab layup and Miller three gave Mercy a 21-20 lead with 7:53 left in the half. East Stroudsburg regained the lead at 25-23 at the 3:23 mark before the Mavericks scored six straight points, capped off by a Stanavich jumper, to give Mercy a 29-25 lead with 1:09 on the clock. A late Corrin Gill three made it 29-28 in favor of the Mavericks at halftime.
Lacie Kringe scored the opening basket of the third quarter to give the Warriors a 30-29 lead. Mercy stormed back on a 10-0 run, finished off by a Barrera three-point play, to give the Mavericks a 39-30 lead with 6:37 left in the quarter. Mercy later held a 43-35 lead with 3:08 on the clock after two Lesko free throws before East Stroudsburg scored four consecutive points to make it 43-39 at the 2:11 mark. The Mavericks ended the quarter on a 7-0 run, ended by a Halvorsen three, to take their largest lead of the game, 50-39, at the end of the third quarter.
East Stroudsburg began the fourth quarter on a 15-0 run to retake the lead at 54-50 with 6:00 left. A Chmiel layup at the 4:24 mark later gave the Warriors a five-point lead, 58-53. The Mavericks scored the next seven points to take a 60-58 lead after a Barrera layup with 2:04 left. Chmiel tied the score at 60-60 on the next Warrior possession before Boek made it 62-60 following a Barrera pass with 1:35 remaining. Chmiel tied the game again at 62-62 at the 1:12 mark. Lesko drew a foul on the next Mercy possession and went 2-of-2 from the line to give Mercy a 64-62 lead with 50 seconds left. After an East Stroudsburg timeout, Barrera drew an offensive foul by Chmiel to give the Mavericks possession with 26 seconds left. Lesko was fouled again and went 2-of-2 from the line again to give Mercy a 66-62 lead with 24 seconds left. The Warriors turned the ball over on their next possession to give the Mavericks the ball with 20 seconds remaining. Lesko was fouled again and sank both free throws for the third consecutive Mercy possession, giving the Mavericks a 68-62 lead. Mercy's defense held East Stroudsburg scoreless in the final 18 seconds of play, giving the Mavericks the 68-62 win.
Mercy shot 51.2 percent (21-of-41) from the floor, 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from downtown and 84.0 percent (21-of-25) from the foul line. East Stroudsburg shot 36.0 percent (27-of-75) from the field, 20.0 percent (3-of-15) from beyond the arc and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 37-34 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, January 8th when they host Staten Island at 5 p.m.
