DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – The Mercy University Women's Basketball Team hosts Dominican University on Thursday, January 8th at 5 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Thursday, January 8th 5 p.m.
Records: Mercy (8-5), Dominican (4-9)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Dominican
Mercy dropped a 69-67 decision to Dominican on November 20, 2024.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy enters the 2025-26 season picked second in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 18-10 last season. The Mavericks advanced to the ECC Championship Semifinals for the second straight year for the first time in program history. Mercy has won 17 or more games for three straight seasons for the first time since 1982-86. The Mavericks have won double-digit ECC games for three straight years for the first time ever. Mercy is looking to win their first ECC Championship and qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons. Mercy looks to qualify for the ECC Championship for the sixth straight season.
Leading the 12 returners for Head Coach Scott Lagas is senior Angelina Barrera who was named First Team All-Met and First Team All-ECC last season. The 2024 ECC Defensive Player of the Year averaged 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Junior Grace Lesko returns after being named ECC Rookie of the Year, Third Team All-ECC and All-Met Honorable Mention last year. Lesko netted 11.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in 2024-25. Junior Amani Abuhatab is back after being named Second Team All-ECC and All-Met Honorable Mention last year. Abuhatab recorded 12.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game a year ago. Senior Kyla Nembach also returns after sitting out last year due to injury. Nembach averaged 4.9 points and 1.4 assists per game during the 2023-24 season.
Also, returning is junior Molly Boek who averaged 5.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Sophomores Caitlin Leary and Morgan Miller also return after averaging 3.1 and 2.5 points per game, respectively. Senior Megan Marcotte returns in the frontcourt after netting 2.2 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last year and juniors Paige Fourtin and Layla Greene are back in Dobbs Ferry after averaging 1.9 and 1.1 points per game last year. Sophomores Sophia Hoyt and Gabrielle Martin return after combining to play in 35 minutes with six points and six rebounds.
Lagas also brings in six newcomers to the fold. Sophomore Haylee Ellwood joins the Mavericks from fellow ECC school Daemen University. Ellwood was named All-League twice at Sacred Heart Academy. Sophomore Ella Summers transfers in from Australia and freshman Saige Youngberg joins the Mavericks from Worcester Academy in Massachusetts. Freshman Allie Regan was an 1,000 point scorer at Framingham High School in Massachusetts and freshman Ella Wilson joins the Mavericks after scoring over 1,500 points at Lake Lehman High School. Rounding out the newcomers is freshman Emily Thornton who was a three-time Regional Champion and one-time State Runner-Up at Albany Academy.
Mercy is coming off a 77-39 win over Bloomfield on Monday. The Mavericks were led by senior Angelina Barrera and junior Grace Lesko who both had double-doubles and by sophomore Haylee Ellwood who had a career-high 10 points. Mercy has been led by Lesko who is averaging a team-high 18.8 points per game with 6.8 rebounds per game on 44.0 percent shooting. Lesko is currently second in the ECC in points per game. Junior Amani Abuhatab is second on the team with 12.4 points per game with 4.5 rebounds per game. Senior Kyla Nembach averages 3.9 points per game and dishes out 2.2 assists per game. Senior Megan Marcotte is averaging 3.9 points per game and averages 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. Sophomore Sophia Hoyt is averaging 4.6 points per game and sophomore Morgan Miller is netting 4.5 points per game. Barrera is averaging 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Barrera was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday and Lesko was named to the Honor Roll. Lesko was named to the ECC Honor Roll on December 22nd. Lesko and Abuhatab were named to the ECC Honor Roll on December 15th and Lesko was named MBWA Division II-III Player of the Week Honorable Mention on December 16th. Lesko was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week last week and Abuhatab was named to the Honor Roll. Lesko was also named MBWA Division II-III Co-Player of the Week last week. Lesko was named to the ECC Honor Roll last week. Lesko was named to the ECC Honor Roll on November 24th. Lesko was named ECC Player of the Week on November 17th and Abuhatab was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Mercy is 17-15 all-time against Dominican and look to defeat the Chargers for the first time since 2017. The Mavericks look to start 9-5 for the first time since the 2023-24 season.
Scouting the Chargers
Dominican is coming off a 68-49 loss to Felician on Tuesday. The Chargers were picked fourth in the CACC Preseason Poll after going 22-8 last season, falling in the CACC Tournament Semifinals. Dominican is led by Cayla Howard who is averaging a team-high 14.8 points per game with a team-high 1.8 blocks and 1.9 steals per game. Ketura Rutty is second on the team with 11.1 points per game and Tamia Nunes is third with 9.3 points per game. Nunes leads the team with 6.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
Next Game
Mercy plays at Roberts Wesleyan on Sunday, January 11th at 2 p.m.
