Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team dropped its seventh game in the last eight outings on Monday evening following a 55-52 defeat against visiting Hunter.
Tanisha Montague (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led two Dolphins in double-figures with a team-high 11 points.
Mount Saint Vincent got off to a good start in the contest and put together a 15-2 run over nearly four minutes to grab its biggest lead of the game at 21-7.
Desiree Rosa (Dumont, N.J.) canned a pair of triples and Montague connected from long distance for the Mount over the run.
The Dolphins would match their largest lead of the game when
Nicole Oliver (Carmel, N.Y.) converted two free-throws at the 9:14 mark, but the Mount then went into a scoring drought that saw them score just five points the balance of the half.
Following a
Shannon Koch (Kings Park, N.Y.) jumper that gave the Mount a 25-14 lead with 7:59 left in the first half, the Dolphins went 7:02 before
Andrea Sinaly (Middle Village, N.Y.) hit a free-throw with just under a minute remaining.
Sinead Gooney (Bronx, N.Y.) snapped a nearly eight minute stretch without a field goal with 15 seconds left to get the Mount to within 28-22 heading into the intermission.
Mount Saint Vincent shot 40.7-percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, but converted just two field goals over the final eight minutes. Hunter used a 15-3 run to close the half to build its lead, despite shooting 25-percent from the field.
The Mount Saint Vincent scoring drought continued in the second half, as the Dolphins did not get on the board until a
Shanice Robinson (New Rochelle, N.Y.) free-throw at the 13:38 mark and did not convert a field goal until Koch jumper at the 10:18 mark. Following the Koch jumper with just under eight minutes to play in the first half, the Mount managed just two conversions over the next 17 minutes of game action.
Hunter took full advantage of the Mount's scoring drought with an 18-2 run to start the second stanza and build its lead to 10 points with 11:16 to play in regulation. The lead would grow to 11 points twice in the final eight minutes, before the Dolphins mounted a furious comeback attempt.
Trailing 46-35 with 5:25 left to play, Mount Saint Vincent outscored Hunter 17-9 down the stretch and had a chance to tie with two possessions in the final 15 seconds.
Jessica Sepp (Bronx, N.Y.) got the Dolphins to within three points with her first career three-pointer with 27 ticks left.
After a Montague lay-in off a Hunter turnover sliced the lead to one point, the Dolphins turned the Hawks over twice in the final 10 seconds, but could not convert the go ahead bucket. Erika Dejesus forced a tie up with three seconds remaining with the arrow in favor of the visitors and hit a lay-in at the horn the thwart the comeback.
Mount Saint Vincent held Hunter to 30.6-percent shooting in the game, but the Hawks outscored the Dolphins by six from the free-throw line and by seven in second chance opportunities. The Hawks secured 23 offensive rebounds in the game and outrebounded the Dolphins 55-42 overall.
Montague finished the night 5-for-11 from the floor and also matched the game-high with five assists. Rosa scored in double-figures for the second straight game for the Dolphins after knocking in two three-pointers on her way to 10 points. She also handed out three helpers and swiped a pair of steals.
Robinson scored seven points for the Dolphins and secured seven caroms, while
Kelly Fraser (Staten Island, N.Y.) blocked four shots and chipped in with five points and five boards.
Nicole Lenard led the visitors with a game-high 19 points on the strength of 3-for-5 shooting from behind the arc to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds. DeJesus netted 16 points, while Dimitra Thomopoulos had a strong night with seven points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Monday's loss drops Mount Saint Vincent to 5-11 overall on the season and to 2-2 against opponents from the CUNYAC. The Dolphins will return to Skyline Conference play on Thursday when they welcome Sage. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
