Mount Eases Past Bard for Second Straight Win

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON – Freshman Jordyn Hellpap scored 15 points and newcomer Taylor Whiffen added 14 points as the Mount Saint Mary College Women’s Basketball team cruised past Bard on Saturday by a score of 75-36. Saturday’s win marks the first time since the 2007-08 season the Knights have opened the year with two straight victories.

The Knights led from the outset on Saturday and were never threatened after opening an 11 point lead on a Hellpap triple with 2:29 left in the opening frame. The Raptors would get the lead down to six points late in the first period, but a 7-1 spurt to open the second frame pushed the Mount Saint Mary lead out to 25-11 on a Hellpap lay-in with 7:22 left before halftime.

After the Knights opened a double-figure advantage early in the second frame, they did not allow Bard closer than 10 points the rest of the day. A Whiffen three-point play to close the scoring in the second quarter gave Knights a 37-20 lead heading into the intermission.

The Knights shot an efficient 53.6-percent from the floor before the break, knocking in three triples and going 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. Hellpap led the first half offensive attack with 10 points after going 4-for-8 from the floor with a pair of three-point field goals.

The Mount pushed its lead to 19 points early in the third stanza on a Hellpap transition bucket and ballooned it to 51-26 on a Whiffen free-throw with 90 seconds left in the period.

Sophomore Maite Gritsko moved the Mount in front 55-28 early in the fourth quarter with a jumper and the Knights took their largest lead of the game and took their largest lead of the game, the final 39 point bulge, on a Whiffen conversion in the final minute.

Hellpap and Whiffen were the lone Knights to score in double-figures, but 10 different players found the scoring column. Megan Kerutis and Kayla Clear each added nine points and Lyndsay Pace came off the bench to score eight points.

Kerutis, Kassidy Hallum and Janae Graham each handed out three assists, with Kerutis, Hellpap and Bridget Kelly (Farmington, Conn.) each swiping four steals.

Overall, Mount Saint Mary shot 50.8-percent from the floor and finished 4-for-15 from behind the arc. The Knights finished the game 11-for-13 from the free-throw line and outscored Bard 42-12 in the paint and 34-4 off of turnovers.

Saturday’s win moves Mount Saint Mary to 2-0 overall on the season.