New York, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team got back into the win column on Thursday when it downed Hunter on the road by a score of 61-55. Three Mount Saint Vincent players scored in double-figures with
Sarah Kluth (Lynbrook, N.Y.) leading the way with 13 points.
Tightly contested throughout, the two teams would stay within two possessions in the first half until the Mount jumped in front by a half-high seven points with just under nine minutes to play before the intermission.
Sage Owens (Narrowsburg, N.Y.) converted a bucket in the paint to push the Dolphins in front 19-12 with 8:53 left in the period.
Hunter would respond with a run of its own to pull in front by five points in the final three minutes. Megan McKenna converted for the Hawks at the 2:36 mark to push the home team in front by five points at 28-25.
Mount Saint Vincent would quickly erase the five point disadvantage after a pair of free-throws from
Andrea Sinaly (Middle Village, N.Y.) and a three-pointer from
Kayla Giordano (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) brought the Dolphins even at 28-28 with 1:52 to play in the first half.
In a half filled with runs, the Hawks again responded with a quick 6-0 run to pull in front 34-28 before eventually taking a 35-30 lead into halftime.
Coming out of the break, Hunter quickly extended its lead to double-figures after a McKenna lay-in pushed the Hawks in front 45-35 with just over 14 minutes to play in regulation.
Trailing by double-figures, sophomore
Desiree Rosa (Dumont, N.J.) started an 11-2 run with a three-pointer and then added a layup to help bring the Mount to within one point with 11:28 to play.
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Tanisha Montague (Brooklyn, N.Y.) jump shot would tie the score at 49-49 with 10:13 to play in the second half and
Brittany Griffin (Suffern, N.Y.) would push the Dolphins in front for good with a bucket at 9:21 mark.
The two teams would go nearly four minutes without scoring after a Kluth conversion at the 8:01 mark, before Hunter tied the score at 55-55 with 2:40 remaining. A pair of Nicole Lenard free-throws would be the final scores of the night for the Hawks, as the Mount finished the game on a 6-0 spurt to secure the victory.
Although shooting just 30.8-percent from the field on the night, the Dolphins converted four more field goals then Hunter. Kluth was one of three Dolphins with a double-double in the game after recording 13 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. Kluth also matched her career-high with nine steals on the night.
Kara McNish (Hawthorne, N.J.) finished the night with 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for the Dolphins, while Griffin finished off the evening with 10 tallies and 11 boards. Rosa closed out a strong night with a team-high five assists to go along with seven points.
Lenard led all scorers in the game with 18 points for Hunter and matched the game-high in assists with Rosa and Shatira Hamlet with five. Hamlet also recorded 12 points in the win. McKenna added 11 points and 12 rebounds for Hunter.
The win pushes Mount Saint Vincent to within a game of .500 at 3-4 overall on the season. The Dolphins will be back on the floor again on January 4 when they travel to St. Joseph's-Brooklyn. Tip-off with the Lady Bears is slated for 7:00 p.m.
