WALTHAM, Mass. – Despite 11 different Mavericks scoring, the Mercy University Women's Basketball Team opened its 2026-27 season with a 75-58 loss at No. 11 Bentley University on Monday night at the Dana Center.
The Mavericks (0-1) open their season with a loss for the first time since 2021 and fall to the Falcons (1-0) for the second straight time.
Mercy jumped out to a three-point lead, 8-5, following a junior Laeticia Hardy (Montreal, Quebec/Northern Oklahoma College/LIU) three-point play at the 7:52 mark of the first quarter. Bentley closed the quarter on a 21-2 run to take a 26-10 lead after the first quarter.
The Falcons increased their lead to 20, 39-19, with 2:52 left in the half. Two baskets from graduate student Molly Boek (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) and a layup from junior Caitlin Leary (Carle Place, N.Y./Carle Place) made it 39-25, leading to a Bentley timeout. A Niya Morgen layup made it 41-25 before a Boek free throw made it 41-26 in favor of the Falcons at halftime.
Bentley opened the third quarter on a 5-0 run to increase the lead back to 20, 46-26, with 9:27 left in the quarter. Mercy continued to battle and followed with a 14-4 run, capped off by a Boek layup, to cut the Falcons lead to 10, 50-40, at the 3:55 mark. Bentley concluded the quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 60-42 lead, heading to the fourth quarter.
A junior Gabrielle Martin (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie Central) free throw to open the fourth quarter made it 60-43. However, the hosts ensued with six straight points to take a game-high 23-point lead, 66-43, with 7:11 left. Bentley later held a 74-51 lead before two free throws from junior Sophia Hoyt (Middle Village, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) and a layup from freshman Kosi Anyanwu (Birmingham, United Kingdom/Nottingham Academy) made it 74-55. A late sophomore Ella Wilson (Lehman, Pa./Lake-Lehman) three made it 75-58 with 1:55 left and neither team scored for the remainder of the game, giving Bentley the 75-58 win.
Mercy was led by Boek who had a team-high 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting with four rebounds. Hardy added 12 points and four rebounds in her Mercy debut and Martin had six points, four assists and three steals. Junior Morgan Miller (Branford, Conn./Sacred Heart Academy) contributed six points and graduate student Kyla Nembach (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) had five points and four rebounds. Hoyt added four points and freshman Callie Mullin (Rockaway Beach, N.Y./Xaverian HS) scored three points in her first collegiate game. Wilson recorded her first three collegiate points and Leary and sophomore Allie Regan (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) both had two points. Anyanwu scored her first two collegiate points in her collegiate debut.
Bentley was led by Brennan Doran who had a game-high 14 points.
Mercy shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the floor, 25.0 percent (4-of-16) from downtown and 75.0 percent (12-of-16) from the foul line. Bentley shot 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the field, 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from beyond the arc and 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from the charity stripe. Bentley held a 33-30 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, November 14th when they face Franklin Pierce at Southern Connecticut State at 3 p.m.
