FARMINGDALE – Morina Bojka led five players in double-figures with 17 points as the Mount Saint Mary College Women’s Basketball team pulled away for a 79-48 Skyline Conference win at Old Westbury Saturday afternoon. The Knights used a big second half to score the win, outscoring the Panthers 48-17 after halftime, on their way to their sixth straight win.
Saturday’s win pushes Mount Saint Mary to 10-2 overall and an unblemished 8-0 in Skyline Conference play. The Knights have won five straight in the series with the Panthers and 24 of the last 30 meetings overall.
First Half
A tightly contested first half saw Mount Saint Mary lead 13-10 after 10 minutes before the two teams entered the intermission knotted at 31-31.
The Knights trailed briefly in the early going on Saturday, before an 11-0 run for the Mount pushed it in front 13-4 on a Bojka layup with 2:23 left in the opening stanza.
Following the Bojka conversion, the Knights went scoreless the rest of the quarter and saw Old Westbury score the final six points of the frame to close to within 13-10 after 10 minutes of action.
The Knights pushed their lead back to seven points on a Kate Hughes bucket with 8:07 left before halftime.
The Mount’s advantage reached double-figures for the first time on a Julia Lavin three-pointer with just under six minutes left in the second stanza.
Mount Saint Mary maintained the advantage the rest of the period until a Melinda Harris three-pointer at the horn knotted things at 31-31 after 20 minutes.
Mount Saint Mary closed the first half shooting 37.1-percent, including a 5-for-14 effort from three-point range.
Bojka and Lauren Desrats each finished the opening half with seven points.
Second Half
After a tight first half, Mount Saint Mary broke the game open with a 19-4 scoring advantage in the third period.
Mount Saint Mary scored the first 12 points of the third period and did not allow a field goal to the Panthers until the 3:54 mark of the frame. Desrats and Katie Smith sparked the run with four points apiece.
Mount Saint Mary grew its lead to as many as 15 points twice in the third period, once on a Lavin layup with 3:29 left in the quarter and again on a Bojka jumped that gave the Mount a 50-35 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Mount Saint Mary erupted for 29 points in the final stanza, going 11-for-22 from the floor, including a 5-for-10 showing from three-point range.
Smith canned a three-pointer to open an 18-point lead to start the fourth and the Mount’s advantage never dipped before 16 points the rest of the way.
The Mount’s lead surged to a game-high 31 points when Lavin buried a three-pointer with 1:13 left to play to give the Knights the final 79-48 decision.
The Knights improved to 48.8-percent shooting after halftime and canned six triples to pull away for the victory.
For The Knights
Bojka finished 8-for-12 from the floor on her way to 17 points and closed a double-double with 10 rebounds. She closed out the victory with a pair of assists and two steals for the Knights.
Smith and Desrats each finished with 14 points, combining to go 12-for-21 from the floor with four three-pointers. Smith grabbed five rebounds and handed out five assists with Desrats swiping a pair of steals.
Lavin and Erin Smith both contributed 10 points with each player knocking down a pair of three-pointers. Lavin closed a strong game with seven rebounds, five assists and five thefts with E. Smith dishing out four helpers.
For The Panthers
Cherish Francis led the team with 15 points, adding three assists and four steals.
Melinda Harris contributed 13 points, two assists and two steals.
Ja’nya Flash led all players with 14 rebounds and chipped in nine points.
Game Statistics
Mount Saint Mary finished the win shooting 43.4-percent overall and 35.5-percent from three-point range.
Old Westbury was held to 38.9-percent shooting, including 4-for-13 from three-point range.
Mount Saint Mary outscored Old Westbury 23-19 off of turnovers and 34-26 in the paint.
The Knights used 18 offensive rebounds to post a 15-4 edge in second chance scoring.
The Knights were set to host St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn on Tuesday evening.
![](https://hudsonvalleypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/TEAM-Newburgh.png")
![](https://hudsonvalleypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WaldenSavingsBank1.jpg")
