KINGS POINT – The Mount Saint Mary College Women’s Basketball team closed the semester on Thursday night with a 57-44 road win at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Katie Smith led three players in double-figures for the Knights with 13 points.
Thursday’s win pushes Mount Saint Mary to 7-2 overall on the season and to an unbeaten 5-0 in conference play. The Mariners see a four-game winning streak stopped and drop to 8-2 overall and 6-2 in league action.
First Quarter
Mount Saint Mary was held to 3-for-12 shooting effort in the opening 10 minutes and was outscored 11-9.
The Mount was held without a field goal until the 6:25 mark of the opening period, a Morina Bojka jumper that put the Mount in front 4-2.
The Marines scored the next seven points to jump in front 9-4 on a three-point play from Madison Demos with 3:16 left in the period.
Toriana Tabasco hit a three-pointer to stop the run and the two teams traded buckets in the final minute to push the score after 10 minutes to 11-9.
Second Quarter
The Knights got on track in the second frame, shooting an even 50-percent from the floor and outscoring the Mariners 15-6.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Ciarra Quinn pushed the Mount in front 17-13 with 3:50 left before halftime.
Mount Saint Mary moved its lead to five points twice in the final 2:11 before a Quinn jumper gave the Knights a half-high 24-17 advantage heading into the intermission.
Third Quarter
After gaining the lead in the second period, the Knights would not relinquish the advantage the rest of the night.
USMMA sliced its disadvantage to just two points on a Madison Reddick three-point play with 7:37 left in the quarter.
Mount Saint Mary answered with a three-pointer from Smith to push the lead back out to 29-24.
The Mariners would climb as close as three points again with 4:46 left in the period before the Knights scored nine of the final 13 points of the frame.
Gabriella Rafaniello canned triple in the final half-minute of the quarter to take a 40-32 advantage into the final stanza.
Fourth Quarter
The Knights shot 40-percent from the floor in the final period, including three-triples to pull away for their third straight victory.
The Mount pushed its lead to double-figures for the first time when Lauren Desrats converted a layup to move the lead to 43-32.
Smith buried a jumper with 3:29 left in regulation time to give the Knights a game-high 18-point advantage at 54-36.
Annie Keenan hit a three-pointer to match the game-high advantage at 57-39 with 92 seconds left to play.
For The Knights
Smith led the Mount with 13 points, going 4-for-11 from the floor, including a trio of triples.
She led all players in the game with five assists and added a pair of steals.
Desrats chipped in 11 points for the Knights to go along with a pair of assists.
Quinn wrapped up the win 4-for-5 from the field on her way to a career-high 10 points.
Keenan collected 10 rebounds and contributed seven points.
Rafaniello and Keenan each finished up with three steals to lead the Knights.
For The Mariners
Demos matched the game-high with 13 points, closing a double-double with 10 rebounds.
Grace Jackson led all players with 16 rebounds, adding eight points and three assists.
Julia Dahlke chipped in eight points and four rebounds.
The Knights are scheduled to travel to #15/9 New York University on January 2.
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