Riverdale, NY - The College of Mount Saint Vincent's women's basketball team played on their home floor for the third straight Skyline Conference matchup, this time taking on the United States Merchant Marine Academy (8-3, 6-2). The Dolphins entered play with a 7-5 overall record, including going 5-3 against conference foes. 

After the Mariners took an early 6-2 lead, Gabriela Goldman helped cut into the deficit as she knocked down a three ball off a pass from Leah Pinili to make it a one point game. Both teams then traded buckets in consecutive possessions to get the score to 11-10, with CMSV still behind. That was, however, until DarNeisha Brice, the Skyline's leading scorer entering play, converted a layup to give her squad their first lead of the contest. USMMA ended up going on a 5-2 run to end the first, making it 17-15 after the first 10 minutes of play. 

Over the first eight minutes of the second quarter, the Mariners slowly brought the score to 28-23. The Dolphins then turned up the intensity on the offensive end, as they went on an seven point run that was highlighted by a Kiera Villegas steal and layup as well as a Victoria Hanley and-one conversion. While CMSV took a two point lead at that point, USMMA once again closed out the quarter in a strong fashion, as the score was 35-30 in favor of the road team heading into halftime. 

The Dolphins saw contributions from all over the lineup in the first half. Junior Aria Rheams had five points and six boards while Villegas and Ashley Martin came off the bench and combined for 13 points. 

Unfortunately for the Dolphins, the second half showed why the Mariners are one of the better teams in the conference this season. CMSV was outscored 22-13 in the third quarter, including losing the points in the paint battle by eight. The theme continued into the fourth, with the Mariners ultimately emerging victorious by the score of 65-50. 

The newcomer Villegas came off the bench and provided a spark with a team-high 11 points while also adding five steals. Junior Aria Rheams was a force on the glass with eight rebounds to go along with eight points. Both Leah Pinili and Gabriela Goldman paced the Dolphins with three assists apiece. 

Now 5-4 in conference, the Phil Stern-led squad will look to get back in the win column on Saturday when they head to nearby Sarah Lawrence. Tip-off is scheduled for noon.