DOVER, DE – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team was defeated on Sunday afternoon 69-62 by Wesley in its initial game of the Wesley College Classic. Junior
Courtney
Heesemann (New Hyde Park, NY) posted a team-high 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while rookie
Jen Mocanu (Middletown, NJ) registered 12 points and career-high 11 rebounds.
Heesemann went 5-9 from the floor in the contest on her way to the team-high in the scoring column and also knocked down six free-throws. Six of her 10 boards came on the offensive glass as the Mount held a 13-9 edge in offensive rebounds. Heesemann also handed out three assists in the game and recorded a steal.
Mocanu continued her strong rookie campaign by recording her first career double-double. She made a pair of threes in the game and also recorded a steal and a pair of assists.
The Dolphins jumped out to a quick eight point lead at 11-3 on Sunday and held a 17-10 advantage with just over 11 minutes left in the first half, before the Wolverines strung together a pair of runs to take the lead. A quick 10 point spurt put the hosts ahead by three points with 7:25 left before halftime and then a 12-0 run in the final 3:19 gave Wesley a 36-27 edge at the intermission.
Wesley built a lead as large as 16 points in the second half, before a 16-2 Dolphin run sliced the lead to 55-53 with 8:29 remaining in regulation time. Mocanu was responsible for seven of the 16 points as she converted a three of jumpers, including a three-pointer to bring the Dolphins back.
Junior Lauren Percodani (Staten Island, NY) gave Mount Saint Vincent the lead back with 4:26 left when she nailed a triple to put the Dolphins in front 60-58. The Wolverines responded with four straight hoops, including three triples, to push their lead back to nine points at 69-60 with 2:00 left to play. Karissa Koerner (Bay Shore, NY) knocked in a pair of free-throws in the final minute to close out the scoring and trim the final deficit to seven points.
Overall in the game, Mount Saint Vincent shot 33.8-percent from the floor and just 23.3-percent (7-30) from long distance. Wesley finished 23-60 from the field, but knocked in 12 three-pointers and 11 free-throws to earn the victory.
Angie Owens led Wesley with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Colleen Thomas finished with 17 points and nine boards. Cory Boyd finished the contest with a game-high 10 assists, as the Wolverines assisted on 19 of their 23 made field goals.
The loss, Mount Saint Vincent's third straight, drops it to 4-6 overall on the season. The Dolphins will wrap up play at the Classic on Monday afternoon against Greensboro (N.C.). Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
