Blue Knights Push their Winning Streak to Seven

By Steven Merritt

NEWBURGH – The Mount Saint Mary College Women’s Basketball team continued its winning ways on Friday night as the Knights defeated Hartwick 57-47. The victory pushed the winning streak to seven as Elizabeth Limonta and Annie Keenan both finished the night with a double-double.

A back and forth beginning to the first quarter led to a 9-6 Hartwick lead with four minutes remaining in the quarter. The Knights then ripped off a 10-0 run to close the period, with four points from Limonta, as the team went 4-for-4 from the field.

The lead blossomed to 11 after a Kayla Cleare layup on an assist from Lauren Desrats. The Hawks responded with an 11-0 run of their own over the last six minutes to end the half in a 22-22 tie. Caitlin Corbett scored five of the 11 points for Hartwick.

The Mount came out of the half with an 11-3 run as Cleare and Desrats combined for seven points. The Mount lead grew to 12 following a Limonta layup late in the third quarter as the stanza ended with the Knights on top 41-31.

The Knights built the lead to 12 once again following a Cleare jumper but the lead was quickly cut to six following a Kelly Pine three-pointer with 1:03 remaining. Katie Smith and Keenan combined to knock down six free throws in the final minute to give the Mount the 10-point victory.

Limonta finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 11 rebounds, with Keenan adding 12 points and 12 rebounds on the night. Cleare chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds on 7-of-12 from the field. Smith had 11 points and five boards and Desrats added a team-high four assists.

Caitlin Corbett led the Hawks with 12 points, 14 rebounds and four assists, good for a double-double, and Molly Kirby added 10 points. Kelly Pine chipped in eight points and six rebounds.

The Knights held Hartwick to 29.0-percent from the field and 23.1-percent from behind the three-point line. The Mount finished the night with 23 points off turnovers and eight second-chance points. Mount Saint Mary shot 33.3-percent from the field and 17-for-23 from the free-throw line. The Knights also outscored the Hawks in the paint 30-18 and held the edge on the glass 47-39.

At 8-2 overall, Mount Saint Mary is idle until December 31 when it hosts Middlebury to end a three game homestand. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.