NEWBURGH – The Mount Saint Mary College Women’s Basketball team used a 53-point second half to turn a 35-34 halftime advantage into a convincing 88-61 Skyline Conference victory over visiting St. Joseph’s-L.I. Thursday evening. Lauren Desrats, Katie Smith and Toriana Tabasco all scored season-high point totals in the victory.
Thursday’s victory in the second straight for the Knights and improves them to 6-2 overall on the season and 4-0 in Skyline Conference play. The Golden Eagles fall to 6-3 overall and 4-3 in conference action.
First Quarter
Mount Saint Mary outscored the Golden Eagles 15-10 in the opening 10 minutes, shooting 33.3-percent from the floor.
The Knights led the majority of the quarter, falling behind by just a single point twice in the period.
After falling behind 8-7 later in the opening stanza, Desrarts knocked in a three-pointer to push the Mount back in front 10-8.
The Golden Eagles quickly knotted the score at 10-10 before the Mount scored the final five points of the quarter.
Morina Bojka and Smith converted layups over the final 1:37 with Tabasco closing out the scoring it half with a free-throw to give the Knights a 15-10 lead.
Second Quarter
Erin Smith hit a triple early in the second period to push the Knights in front 18-10.
Following the Smith three-pointer, the Golden Eagles went on a 20-2 run covering just under five minutes to surge in front 30-20 on a Lanyah Ford conversion with 4:42 left before halftime.
St. Joseph’s went 8-for-9 from the floor over the run and were led by eight points from Alyssa Adomaites.
Mount Saint Mary went 1-for-10 from the floor over the 4:44 stretch and turned the ball over four times.
After falling behind by 10, the Knights ripped off the next 12 points to regain a 32-30 advantage on a K. Smith jumper with 1:14 left in the second stanza.
St. Joseph’s came back with the next four points to move in front by two before a Shannon Phelan three-pointer with five seconds left in the quarter sent the Mount to the intermission with a slim 35-34 advantage.
The Knights shot an even 40-percent from the floor in the second period, including a 4-for-8 effort from three-point range.
Third Quarter
St. Joseph’s-L.I. came out of halftime with the first six points to grab a 40-35 lead 59 seconds in the third period.
The Golden Eagles maintained the lead in the period until the 3:33 mark when Bojka canned a three-pointer to give the Knights a 48-46 lead.
Alyssa Signor answered with a three-pointer for the visitors to give them back a one-point lead with 3:18 left in the period.
Desrats answered with a layup to give the Knights back a 50-49 lead and the bucket started an 8-0 run to close the quarter.
Mount Saint Mary went 3-for-3 from the field over the spurt that saw it take a 56-49 lead into the final frame.
Mount Saint Mary shot 47.1-percent in the third stanza, including a 3-for-6 showing from behind the arc.
Fourth Quarter
Mount Saint Mary controlled the final period on Thursday, outscoring the Golden Eagles 32-12.
The Knights shot 62.5-percent from the floor over the final 10 minutes and knocked in five of its eight three-point field goal attempts.
The Knights scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer from Desrats to open a 64-49 advantage.
After moving the advantage to 10 points on a Bojka free-throw, the Knights’ advantage would not dip below double-figures the rest of the way.
The lead grew to 73-52 on a Phelan triple with 5:09 left in regulation time and ballooned to a game-high 30 points, at 88-58, on a Casey Love conversion with 64 seconds left to play.
The Mount held St. Joseph’s to just three field goals in the fourth period and a 15-percent conversion rate.
For The Knights
Desrats reached double-figures for the third straight games, posting a season-high 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting overall, including a trio of three-pointers. She closed out the victory with three assists and a team-high four steals.
Tabasco wrapped up a strong night with a season-high 16 points, going 5-for-7 from the field, 2-for-2 from three-point range and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. She contributed six rebounds and four assists.
K. Smith scored a season-best 17 points, knocking in three triples and going 7-for-12 from the floor overall. She led the Knights with five assists and swiped three steals.
Bojka rounded out a quartet of players in double-figures with 16 points, adding six rebounds and four assists.
Annie Keenan led the Knights with 10 caroms, adding two assists, a block and a steal.
For The Golden Eagles
Adomaites, who entered the game as the conference leader in scoring with better than 26 points per night, matched the team-high in scoring with 17 tallies.
Signor also scored 17 points for the visitors and closed a double-double with a game-high 15 rebounds.
The Knights will travel to USMMA on December 16 in a makeup of the December 4 postponement.
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