MSMC Five Game Winning Streak Snapped

By Steven Merritt

STATEN ISLAND – The Mount Saint Mary College Women’s Basketball team had its five game win streak snapped on Saturday as the Knights dropped a 72-60 contest on the road against the College of Staten Island. Junior Morina Bojka led the Mount with a game-high 22 points.

A back and forth first quarter saw the Knights jump out to 18-13 lead following a Lauren Desrats free throw with 3:07 remaining the first quarter. The Dolphins scored the final five points of the quarter to close the quarter at 18 all. Desrats scored half of the team’s points with nine while Kayla Schmitter tallied a quick 11 points for the College of Staten Island.

Three straight buckets to start the second period for the Mount pushed the lead to six points for the first time in the contest. A lay-in from Bojka at the 7:14 mark gave the Knights its largest lead of the game at nine points. The Dolphins closed the second half on a 17-6 run with Jada Rogers tallying six points while Diana Todaro added four.

The Mount finished the first half shooting 37.5 percent and made three threes but was just 2 for 6 from the free throw line. CSI shot 46.9 percent from the field and made two triples and was a perfect 5 for 5 from the free throw stripe. Desrats led the way with nine points while Bojka and Toriana Tabasco each had seven points for Mount Saint Mary. Schmitter led the way for the Dolphins with 13 points and Todaro added 11 points.

Mount Saint Mary cut the lead to one point at 44-43 with 6:10 remaining in the third quarter on a Bojka bucket before CSI responded with a 9-2 run to push its lead to nine points with 3:29 remaining in the period. The Dolphins finished the quarter with a 56-49 lead after a Rogers two-pointer.

After a Bojka layup to start the final quarter, the Dolphins elevated its lead to 12 points following free throws from Brianna Robisky with 5:17 left in the final period. Mount Saint Mary cut the lead to seven points with 2:00 remaining the quarter but the College of Staten Island scored the final seven points of the contest to earn a 13 point victory.

Bojka led the Knights with 14 points in the second half as the Mount shot just 31.4 percent in the second half and was just 1 for 10 from the three point line as well as 2 for 7 from the free throw stripe. CSI was 37.5 percent from the field and made three threes while converting 10 for 13 from the free throw line.

Bojka finished with 21 points and six rebounds on 10 for 22 shooting while Desrats added 12 points and three steals. Tabasco chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds while Lyndsay Pace led the team with six assists.

Schmitter led the Dolphins with 17 points on 7 for 13 from the field as well as Todaro adding 16 points, 21 rebounds, six steals and five assists. Meghan McEwen added 15 points and five assists while Rogers scored 13 points and seven rebounds for CSI.

CSI outshot the Mount 42.2 percent to 34.7 percent from the field and the Dolphins outscored the Knights by 11 from the free throw line. Mount Saint Mary converted 27 points off turnovers and scored 38 points in the paint compared to the Dolphins 36.

Saturday’s loss pushes the Knights to 6-2 overall on the season. Following the holiday break, the Mount travels north to take on Middlebury on December 31. Tip-off with the Panthers on New Years Eve is schedueld for 2:00 p.m.