RIVERDALE, NY – Lauren Percodani (Staten Island, NY) scored a career-high 19 points and the Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team earned its fifth straight win as the Dolphins downed Old
Westbury 77-66 on Tuesday night. Percodani was one of four Dolphins to record double-figures on the night.
In a game that featured eight ties and nine lead changes, the Dolphins found themselves trailing at the half 38-37. Mount Saint Vincent led by as many as eight points in the opening period, but the Panthers closed the half on a 12-3 run to take the one point advantage heading into the break.
Percodani scored eight of her 19 points in the opening period, as the Dolphins shot .361 from the field in the first half and. 308 from three-point land. Edeana Martinez (Bronx, NY) grabbed six rebounds in the opening 20:00, as each team pulled down 22 boards in the frame.
Senior captain Kaitlin Burud (Red Hook, NY) gave the Mount the lead back, at 39-38, with 18:56 left in regulation on a lay-up off of an offensive rebound. Following a steal from Courtney Heesemann (New Hyde Park, NY), Martinez pushed the Mount out by three with a lay-up off of the fast break with 18:34 left.
The game would be tied three times in the second half, with the final tie coming when Heesemann finished a lay-up to knot the score at 48. Old Westbury would retake the lead for the final time on a jumper from Shameeka Bryan with 13:38 remaining in the tilt.
From there Heesemann would give the Mount the lead for good on lay-up off of a put back with 13:21 left. The Dolphins would push the lead to the final 11 point bulge with 40 seconds left when Percodani knocked down a pair of free-throws.
The win was a tough one for the Mount, as the Panthers shot .462 from three-point range in the game, including 4-6 from Pamela Robinson. Robinson finished the night with a game-high 38 points on 15-24 shooting to go along with two rebounds and a pair of assists.
The Dolphins were out-rebounded in the game by two at 46-44, but pulled down an impressive 24 offensive boards in the contest leading to a 26-13 edge in second chance points.
Percodani went 5-11 from the floor in the game, including 3-5 from three-point range and a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe. Her solid all-around performance also saw her grab four rebounds and hand out four assists. The sophomore also swiped a game-high six steals for the Dolphins.
Martinez recorded her second career double-double in the game after scoring a career-high 16 points on 6-14 shooting and pulling down 10 rebounds. Heesemann also recorded a double-double, her sixth of the season, with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Burud finished the night with 12 points and eight rebounds to go along with three blocked shots and a pair of steals.
For the game, the Mount shot .378 from the field, including .250 from three point land. The Dolphins owed a 26-10 edge in points in the paint and turned 25 Old Westbury turnovers into 24 points.
Following its fifth straight win, the Mount stands at 13-3 overall on the season and 10-2 in the Skyline Conference. The Dolphins will look for their second six game winning streak of the season when they host Russell Sage on Saturday, February 2. Tip-off at Hayes Gymnasium is set for 2:00 p.m.
