Riverdale, NY - The College of Mount Saint Vincent women's basketball team, led by Maria Nardulli, pulled out a hard fought conference victory in front of a packed out Peter Jay Sharp Center this afternoon against the Old Westbury Panthers.  The win gave the Dolphins their fifth conference win of the season and keeps their playoff hopes alive as the team enters the final week of the 2023-23 season. 

The Dolphins are now 5-10 against Skyline opponents this year. 

Kira Villegas opened up the scoring for the Dolphins with a contested layup in the paint to put the Dolphins up early. The Panthers fought back, however, as they opened up an early 8-6 lead in the first quarter. After that brief period of trailing, Dolphins did not look back, going on a 10 point run in the second quarter to further their lead.

The Dolphins ended the half playing very well on both ends of the floor, leading 34-24 at the buzzer. 

The Dolphins kept up their offensive efforts in the second half, out-scoring the Panthers by a score of 31-24 in the final two quarters. The Dolphins shot a solid 45% from the field in the second half, en route to their 65-48 win against the Panthers. 

Kira Villegas led the scoring charge for the Dolphins with 28 points throughout the contest. The guard from the Bronx also had eight rebounds, seven steals and two blocks to round out her fantastic day on the floor. Sofia Marcos had a great day as well, scoring nine points and crashing the boards for nine rebounds as well as two blocks and two steals.

The Dolphins continue their season Saturday, February 11 against The St Joseph's Brooklyn University Bears in Brooklyn, New York.

CMSV Sports Information intern Connor Pietrowski is the author of this article