AMHERST, N.Y. – Powered by three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy University Women's Basketball Team overcame a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to earn a 58-54 upset win at ECC foe No. 13 Daemen University on Friday night at Lumsden Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (17-6, 11-1 ECC) have won 12 of their last 13 games and earn a season split with the Wildcats (19-3, 12-1 ECC). Mercy hands Daemen their first ECC loss and first loss against an East Region team this season. The Mavericks earn their second win over a ranked team this year after previously beating #10 Bentley on November 15th. Mercy ends Daemen's 15-game winning streak against ECC competition. The Mavericks win at Daemen for the second time in three seasons. Mercy is off to their best since the 1984-85 season when they started 18-5.
The first quarter between Mercy and Daemen saw a back-and-forth battle, with Mercy taking a narrow 10-8 lead. Daemen initially went ahead with a layup by Shyla Montgomery at 6:37. The Mavericks responded with a fast-break layup by senior Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) at 5:24, assisted by sophomore Sophia Hoyt (Middle Village, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy), and a three-pointer from junior Amani Abuhatab (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) at 4:36. Claire Pikett of Daemen scored a layup at 5:00 and another at 1:30, keeping the score close. In the final minute, Abuhatab secured Mercy's lead by making three consecutive free throws with 57 seconds remaining. The quarter ended with Daemen missing a late layup attempt, as the Mavericks held on to their slim advantage.
Daemen took control in the second quarter, outscoring Mercy 22-14. Ne'vaeh Buntley was instrumental for the Wildcats, scoring a jumper at 9:22 and following up with a 3-pointer at 7:06, which gave them a 15-14 lead. Joline Raposo contributed with a layup at 5:53, extending the lead to 22-16. Junior Grace Lesko (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) performed well at the free-throw line, converting four attempts, including two at the buzzer, to narrow the gap to 30-24 heading into halftime.
In the third quarter, Mercy narrowed the deficit with a solid performance, outscoring Daemen 16-12. Early in the quarter, junior Molly Boek (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) converted two free throws to cut the Wildcats' lead to four points. Abuhatab's 3-pointer at 6:06 brought the Mavericks within one point at 34-33. Hoyt made a significant impact with consecutive fast-break layups, including one with 1:05 remaining, tying the game at 40-40 after converting a free throw. However, Buntley's jumper with 49 seconds left restored the Wildcats' lead, ending the quarter with Daemen ahead 42-40.
In a closely contested fourth quarter, Mercy overcame Daemen 58-54 with a strong finish. The Wildcats built a 52-43 lead with 4:18 remaining after a Pikett layup. Lesko, Barrera and Abuhatab went 6-for-6 from the foul line to make it 52-49 with 1:51 on the clock. Hoyt forced a steal and recorded a layup to get Mercy within one, 52-51, with 1:40 left. After a Daemen turnover and foul, Boek went 2-of-2 from the line to give the Mavericks a 53-52 lead at the 1:35 mark. Pikett went 1-of-2 from the line on the next Wildcats possession to tie the game at 53-53 with 1:12 left. Barrera was later fouled and put Mercy back in front with a free throw, making it 54-53 with 25 seconds remaining. The Mercy defense held Daemen scoreless on their next possession and Hoyt was fouled, going 2-for-2 from the line to give Mercy a 56-53 advantage with 14 seconds left. Kyleigh Chapman went 1-of-2 from the line for Daemen to make it 56-54 and Lesko got the rebound before Barrera was fouled and went 2-of-2 to put the game out of reach at 58-54 with seven seconds left. Mercy held Daemen without a field goal for the final 4:18 and ended the game on a 15-2 run to secure the upset win.
Lesko led Mercy with a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, while also contributing three steals. Abuhatab scored 13 points, hitting 5-for-5 from the free-throw line and adding three steals. Hoyt posted 11 points and led the team with four assists, collecting six rebounds and three steals. Barrera added nine points and five rebounds, converting 5-of-6 free throws. Boek added six points and senior Kyla Nembach (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) recorded five points.
Buntley led the Wildcats with a game-high 15 points. Pikett contributed 13 points while dominating defensively with three blocks and three steals, along with eight rebounds.
Mercy shot 29.2 percent (14-of-48) from the floor, 30.0 percent (3-of-10) from downtown and 96.4 percent (27-of-28) from the foul line. Daemen shot 33.3 percent (23-of-69) from the field, 10.0 percent (2-of-10) from beyond the arc and 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 44-40 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Sunday, February 15th when they play at D'Youville at 1 p.m.
