BRONX, NY – Freshman
Brittany Griffin (Suffern, NY) scored a team-high 18 points and junior
Karissa Koerner (Bay Shore, NY) chipped in with 16, but the College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball
team was downed by a score of 75-59 on Tuesday at Lehman. Whittney Barnes led the Lightning with 30 points and 18 rebounds.
Lehman held the lead from the outset on Tuesday as the Lightning jumped on top for good with a free-throw from Sally Nnamani with 18:49 to go in the opening frame. The Lightning would extend the lead to double-figures with 13:51 left in the half and would go on to open its largest lead of the frame at 16 points three times before the half. Lehman would head into the locker room with a 12 edge at 36-24.
The Dolphins would trim the lead to eight points early in the second half on back-to-back jumpers from Griffin and Courtney Heesemann (New Hyde Park, NY). Lehman would push the lead back to double-figures with 19:07 in the period and the Dolphins would not be able to climb any closer than nine the rest of the way.
Barnes would make 10 of the Lightning's 25 field goals in the contest, as she went 10-15 from the floor and 10-11 from the free-throw line. Five of her 18 rebounds came on the offensive end leading to 22 second chance points for Lehman. Nnamani, a D3hoops.com Fourth Team Preseason All-American selection, netted 13 points, while Kelsey Ash chipped in 11 in the winning effort.
Griffin shot 9-16 from the floor in her collegiate debut for the Mount and also pulled down a pair of rebounds. Koerner reached double-figures by knocking down five three-pointers for the Mount to go along with three rebounds and a pair of steals.
Lauren Perocdani (Staten Island, NY) finished with five rebounds and four assists on the night, while Heesemann scored four points and pulled down a team-high six rebounds in 25 minutes of action.
Overall in the game, Mount Saint Vincent shot 33.3-percent from the floor, 29.2-percent from behind the arc and 61.5-percent from the free-throw line. Lehman converted nearly 43-percent of its field goal opportunities and shot 73.1-percent (19-26) from the foul line.
Lehman held a commanding edge in points in the paint on Tuesday at 34-16 and converted 28 Mount Saint Vincent turnovers into 19 points.
The loss moves Mount Saint Vincent to 0-1 overall on the season. The Dolphins will look to rebound on Friday when they take on Rutgers-Camden as part of the NYU Tip-Off Tournament. The game is slated for 8:00 p.m.
