Knights Take Down Undefeated Old Westbury

By Steven Merritt

NEWBURGH – The Mount Saint Mary College Women’s Basketball team won its sixth straight game on Saturday afternoon, defeating previously undefeated Old Westbury 62-52. Kayla Cleare and Elizabeth Limonta combined for 31 points to lead the Knights.

Old Westbury started the game on a 12-2 run following two-three pointers from Alexis Lopez. An Annie Keenan layup in transition from Maite Gritsko ended the run and ignited a 13-0 Mount spurt that ended the quarter at 15-12 in favor of the Knights.

The Panthers took the lead and extended it to 10 points with two minutes remaining in the second quarter. Mount Saint Mary countered, once again, by ending the quarter on an 8-0 run on two Keenan threes and one layup.

The Mount pushed its lead to eight several times during the third period and finished the quarter with a 48-39 lead. The lead was pushed to 13 following a Lauren Desrats jumper early in the fourth stanza. Old Westbury cut the lead down to eight with five minutes to go, but the Knights cut the comeback effort short and ended the game with a 10 point victory.

Cleare lead the way with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks. Limonta finished with 14 points, including 11 in the second half, and finished with 13 rebounds, good for a double-double. Keenan chipped in 10 points and four rebounds, while Toriana Tabasco finished with seven points, six rebounds and two assists.

Alexis Lopez led the way with 15 points for Old Westbury, knocking down five three-pointers in the first half. Charlotte Renker had a team-high 11 rebounds and Tori Bellings finished with five assists.

The Mount held the Panthers to 31.1-percent from the field and held them to 52 points, which is 32 points below their season average. The Knights won the rebounding battle 45-39 and outscored Old Westbury in the paint 24-16. Mount Saint Mary converted 19 Old Westbury turnovers into 19 points and scored 13 second chance points on the day.

At 7-2 overall and an unblemished 5-0 record in conference this season, Mount Saint Mary faces off against Hartwick on Friday night at the Kaplan Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.