DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 25, 2025) - Powered by three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy University women's basketball team earned a 65-50 win over ECC foe St. Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday afternoon at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.

The Mavericks (11-7, 5-3 ECC) have won three of their last four games and defeat the Spartans (4-14, 2-6 ECC) for the third straight time. 

Mercy was led by junior Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) who had a game-high 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and 7-of-8 shooting from the foul line with five rebounds and five assists. Sophomore Grace Lesko (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) added a double-double by way of 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore Amani Abuhatab (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) contributed 13 points and nine rebounds and sophomore Molly Boek (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) had six points. Freshman Caitlin Leary (Carle Place, N.Y./Carle Place) scored five points and junior Megan Marcotte (Enfield, Conn./Enfield) had two points. Sophomore Paige Fourtin (Ansonia, Conn./Greens Farms Academy) scored one point. 

STAC was led by Syrita Faraj who had a team-high 18 points.

STAC scored the first six points of the game and later held a 12-2 lead with 3:23 left in the first quarter. Mercy scored the final six points of the quarter, capped off by a Barrera layup, to cut the Spartans lead to four, 12-8, at the end of the first quarter. 

Back-to-back baskets from Abuhatab and Marcotte to open the second quarter tied the game at 12-12 at the 8:10 mark. A Barrera three-point play gave Mercy a 15-14 lead with 7:33 left in the half. The Spartans later regained the lead and built it to three, 20-17, with 1:26 left in the half. A Fourtin free throw and Boek jumper tied the score at 20-20 heading into halftime. 

Mercy opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run, finished off by five straight points by Barrera, to give the Mavericks a 27-20 lead with 8:18 left in the quarter. After a STAC timeout, the Spartans went on an 11-4 run to tie the score at 31-31 at the 4:23 mark. Mercy scored the next nine points to take a 40-31 lead after back-to-back baskets from Lesko and headed into the fourth quarter with a 40-34 lead. 

A Faraj layup to open the fourth quarter cut the Mavericks' lead to four, 40-36. Mercy followed with a 13-5 run to take a 12-point lead, 53-41, after two Leary free throws with 5:04 left. STAC later made it a 10-point game, 58-48, but the Mavericks went on a 7-0 run, finished off by two Abuhatab free throws, to take their largest lead of the game, 65-48, with 34 seconds left. A late Spartan basket would not be enough and Mercy earned the 65-50 win. 

Mercy shot 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the floor, 15.4 percent (2-of-13) from downtown and 75.0 percent (15-of-20) from the foul line. STAC shot 36.5 percent (19-of-52) from the field, 25.0 percent (4-of-16) from beyond the arc and 100.0 percent (8-of-8) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 40-28 edge on the glass. 

Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, January 31st when they play at Roberts Wesleyan at 6 p.m.