NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 7 seeded Mercy University Women's Basketball Team faces No. 2 seeded Bentley University in an NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship First Round matchup on Friday, March 13th at 2:30 p.m. at Southern Connecticut State University.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Friday, March 13th 2:30 p.m.
Records: #7 Mercy (22-7), #2 Bentley (22-4)
Location: New Haven, Conn. (Southern Connecticut State University)
Tickets
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
All Games
$11.32 – Adults
$6.79 - Students with ID, Senior Citizens, Children
Children under 2 free for all games
Last Meeting vs. Bentley
Mercy earned a 64-61 win over Bentley on November 15, 2025 at Southern Connecticut State.
Scouting the Mavericks
The Mavericks are coming off a 73-68 loss to Daemen in the ECC Championship Final on Sunday. Mercy is making their second NCAA Tournament appearance in three years and third appearance overall. The Mavericks look to win their first-ever NCAA Tournament game. Mercy enters the tournament with their most wins since 1985 and with a win would have their most wins in a season since 1976. The Mavericks earned a share of their first-ever ECC Regular Season Championship with a school-record 15 ECC wins and advanced to the ECC Championship Final for the second time in three years. Mercy recorded double-digit ECC wins for the fourth straight season for the first time in program history. The Mavericks entered the 2025-26 season picked second in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 18-10 last season.
Mercy has been led by ECC Player of the Year, First Team All-ECC selection and ECC Championship All-Tournament Team recipient junior Grace Lesko who is averaging a team-high 18.4 points per game with a team-high 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game on 44.8 percent shooting. Lesko is currently second in the ECC in points per game. First Team All-ECC selection and ECC Championship All-Tournament Team recipient junior Amani Abuhatab is second on the team with 14.1 points per game with 4.2 rebounds per game. Senior Kyla Nembach averages 4.2 points per game and dishes out 2.7 assists per game. Senior Megan Marcotte is averaging 2.7 points per game and averages 3.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. Sophomore Sophia Hoyt is averaging 4.9 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game and sophomore Morgan Miller is netting 6.6 points per game. Second Team All-ECC selection senior Angelina Barrera is averaging 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game on 48.9 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. Head Coach Scott Lagas was named ECC Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons and recorded his 100th career win against STAC on February 28th. Lesko was named ECC Player of the Week five times, ECC Defensive Player of the Week once and MBWA Player of the Week once. Abuhatab was named ECC Player of the Week once and Barrera was tabbed ECC Defensive Player of the Week twice.
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.
Scouting the Falcons
Bentley is coming off a 59-50 loss against Southern Connecticut State in the NE10 Championship Final on Sunday. The Falcons are making their 40th NCAA Tournament appearance and look to defend their 2025 NCAA East Regional title. Bentley is ranked No. 11 nationally in the WBCA Top 25 Poll. The Falcons have been led by First Team All-NE10 honoree Niya Morgen who is averaging a team-high 14.0 points per game with 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. Kayana Armbrister is second on the team with 11.0 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. Julia Elie is third on the team with 9.4 points per game and leads the team with 6.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. Brennan Doran nets 7.8 points per game and Cassidy Yeomans dishes out a team-high 3.6 assists per game.
Next Game
The winner of Friday's game plays the winner of No. 3. Daemen/No. 6 Felician on Saturday, March 14th at 5 p.m. at Southern Connecticut State.
