MSMC Blue Knights Score Fifth Straight Win

PATCHOGUE – Senior Jessica Rini and junior Kayla Cleare each recorded double-doubles last Tuesday as the Mount Saint Mary College Women’s Basketball team collected its fifth straight win with a 62-41 road win at St. Joseph’s-L.I.

After a sluggish start that saw the Knights score just eight points in the opening stanza, the Mount rebounded with a 22 point second frame to carry a 30-16 advantage into halftime. After the Golden Eagles knotted the score at 9-9 and 14-14 in the second frame, the Mount closed the period on a 16-2 run to build the double-figure halftime advantage.

Elizabeth Limonta broke the 14-14 tie with 5:16 left before halftime, while Lyndsay Pace sparked the run with seven points. The Mount held St. Joseph’s to one field goal over the final seven minutes of the second quarter and to a 20.8-percent conversion rate over the first 20 minutes of action.

Mount Saint Mary shot 32.4-percent in the opening half on Tuesday and went 1-for-10 from behind the arc. Pace led eight different scorers for the Knights with seven points, going 2-for-5 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.

The Mount scored the first six points of the third stanza to move in front 36-20 and did not allow its advantage to slip below 16 points the rest of the tilt. The lead ballooned to 27 points in the final minute of the third period on a Limonta lay-in and the game-high 27-point lead was matched twice in the final 5:19 of regulation time.

Mount Saint Mary improved to 40-percent shooting in the second half and held St. Joseph’s to a 31-percent effort. Rini scored eight of her team-high 12 points after halftime, going 4-for-9 from the floor after the break.

Rini closed out the game 6-for-15 from the floor and secured 12 rebounds to go along with a pair of steals. Cleare registered 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting, adding 10 caroms, two assists and a blocked shot.

Pace and Limonta each scored nine points for the Knights off the bench, while Katie Smith handed out six assists.

St. Joseph’s was led by a game-high 14 points from Jami Cardenas, while Andrea Iavarone led all players with 17 rebounds.

Mount Saint Mary finished the night shooting 36.1-percent overall, but only 12.5-percent from three-point range. The Knights dominated in the paint, 36-10 and in points off of turnovers 23-5.