ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Jan. 31, 2025) – Powered by junior Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) and sophomore Amani Abuhatab (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) scoring in double figures, the Mercy University women's basketball team earned a 48-29 win at ECC foe Roberts Wesleyan University on Friday night at the Voller Athletic Center.
The Mavericks (12-7, 6-3 ECC) have won two games in a row and four of their last five games. Mercy sweeps the season series with the Redhawks (1-16, 1-8 ECC) for the third straight season. The 29 points allowed by the Mavericks is the fewest allowed in an ECC game in program history. The 29 points allowed is also the fewest allowed by Mercy since giving up 14 points to Southampton on January 11, 1988.
Mercy was led by Barrera who had a game-high 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting with a team-high eight rebounds and a game-high five assists. Abuhatab had 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting with six rebounds and a game-high five steals. Freshman Caitlin Leary (Carle Place, N.Y./Carle Place) added seven points and junior Megan Marcotte (Enfield, Conn./Enfield) recorded five points and seven rebounds. Freshman Morgan Miller (Branford, Conn./Sacred Heart Academy) netted four points and sophomore Grace Lesko (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) contributed three points and seven rebounds. Senior Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) and sophomore Molly Boek (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) both scored two points.
Roberts Wesleyan was led by Georgia Haverlock who had a team-high 10 points.
The Redhawks held an early 2-0 lead before Mercy went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-2 lead after an Abuhatab layup with 2:22 left in the first quarter. A Grace Dow jumper made it 7-4 before an Abuhatab layup gave Mercy a 9-4 lead after the first quarter.
Mercy began the second quarter on an 11-2 run, finished off by a Barrera layup, to take a 20-6 lead at the 3:02 mark of the quarter. A Barrera free throw later gave the Mavericks a 15-point lead, 23-8, with 1:20 on the clock. A Lauren McCrea layup cut Mercy's lead to 13, 23-10, at halftime. The 10 points allowed in the first half by the Mavericks are the fewest allowed in the first half of a game in over 10 years.
The Mavericks started the third quarter on a 6-2 spurt to increase their lead to 17, 29-12, after an Abuhatab layup with 7:24 on the clock. The Redhawks later cut the Mercy lead to 13, 31-18, before Mercy closed the quarter on a 6-3 spurt to take a 37-21 lead after three quarters following a Lesko layup.
Roberts Wesleyan opened the fourth quarter on a 6-2 run to cut the Mavericks' lead to 12, 39-27, with 7:23 left. Mercy closed the game on a 9-2 run, capped off by a Marcotte free throw, to take their largest lead of the game, 48-29, and held on for the win.
Mercy shot 30.4 percent (17-of-56) from the floor, 9.1 percent (1-of-11) from downtown and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the foul line. Roberts Wesleyan shot 28.0 percent (14-of-50) from the field, 10.0 percent (1-of-10) from beyond the arc and did not attempt a free throw. Mercy held a 43-35 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, February 7th when they host D'Youville at 5 p.m.
