DOBBS FERRY, N.Y.  – The Mercy University Women's Basketball Team hosts ECC foe St. Thomas Aquinas College for Senior Day on Saturday, February 28th at 12 p.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Saturday, February 28th 12 p.m.

Records: Mercy (20-6, 14-1 ECC), St. Thomas Aquinas (8-19, 5-10 ECC)

Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Last Meeting vs. St. Thomas Aquinas

Mercy earned a 69-65 win at STAC on January 31, 2026.

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 72-57 win over Molloy on Sunday. The Mavericks were led by junior Amani Abuhatab who had a game-high 20 points. Mercy has been led by junior Grace Lesko who is averaging a team-high 17.9 points per game with a team-high 7.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game on 43.1 percent shooting. Lesko is currently second in the ECC in points per game. Abuhatab is second on the team with 13.5 points per game with 4.2 rebounds per game. Senior Kyla Nembach averages 4.0 points per game and dishes out 2.7 assists per game. Senior Megan Marcotte is averaging 2.8 points per game and averages 3.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. Sophomore Sophia Hoyt is averaging 5.5 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game and sophomore Morgan Miller is netting 6.5 points per game. Senior Angelina Barrera is averaging 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game on 49.7 percent shooting. Barrera recorded her 1,000th career point at STAC on January 31st, becoming the 22nd Maverick in program history to reach the mark. Barrera recorded her 100th career block at Molloy on January 24th, becoming the fifth Maverick in program history to reach the mark. Abuhatab was named ECC Player of the Week on Monday and Lesko was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Lesko was named ECC Co-Player of the Week last week for the fourth time this season and Abuhatab was named to the Honor Roll. Barrera and Lesko were named to the ECC Honor Roll on February 9th. Lesko was named ECC Co-Player of the Week on February 2nd and Barrera was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Barrera was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on January 26th and Lesko was named to the Honor Roll. Hoyt was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and Lesko was named to the Honor Roll on January 19th. Lesko was also named MBWA Division II-III Player of the Week Honorable Mention. Lesko was named ECC Co-Player of the Week on January 12th and Barrera and Miller were named to the Honor Roll. Lesko was also named MBWA Division II-III Player of the Week Honorable Mention. Barrera was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on January 5th 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 11-34 in their last 45 meetings against STAC but have won the last five meetings. The Mavericks will honor seniors Angelina Barrera, Kyla Nembach and Megan Marcotte in a ceremony prior to the game. The Mavericks currently have a school record 14 ECC wins this year and have secured a first-round bye in the ECC Championship. Mercy has secured their sixth straight ECC Championship berth. With a win, the Mavericks would secure a share of their first-ever ECC Regular Season Championship. With a win, Mercy would have 21 wins in a season for the first time since the 1984-85 season when the Mavericks had 22 wins. Head Coach Scott Lagas needs one more win for his 100th career win as Mercy head coach. He enters Saturday's game with a 99-103 record as the Mavericks' head coach. Mercy has double-digit ECC wins for the fourth straight season for the first time in program history. The Mavericks are ranked No. 8 in the latest NCAA East Regional Rankings.

Scouting the Spartans

STAC is coming off an 81-62 win over Queens on Sunday. The Spartans were picked fifth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 4-22 last season. STAC has been led by Bailey Chapman who is averaging a team-high 12.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Jona Kabashi is second on the team with 9.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Toni Schuetze averages 8.8 points per game and Cassidy Mahaney averages 7.5 points per game.

Next Game

Mercy will play in the ECC Women's Basketball Championship Semifinals on Saturday, March 7th.