By Matt Merritt
NEWBURGH – The Mount Saint Mary College Women’s Basketball team cruised past The City College of New York at home Saturday afternoon, winning 85-20. Kate Hughes and Cailean Nolan were the lone double-digit scorers for the Mount.
Saturday’s win pushes the Mount to 6-3 overall on the campaign while maintaining their 3-1 mark in conference play. The City College of New York falls to 2-5 overall on the season and stays at 0-1 in CUNYAC play.
First Half
The Knights jumped out to a 10-0 lead in a hurry, highlighted by a triple by Lauren Desrats at the 5:50 mark of the opening frame.
A layup by Odalis Garcia cut the Beavers deficit to 10-5 with 4:27 remaining in the first quarter.
A Beavers’ three-pointer by Kasia Morrison at the 2:26 mark of the first period slashed the Beavers deficit to 14-10.
Kaeli McAnally ended the opening quarter by draining a triple with 58 seconds left to give the Mount a 17-10 lead.
The Knights went on a 12-0 run from the 6:34 mark to the 2:40 mark of the second stanza, where Erin Smith drilled a three to give the Knights a 31-14 advantage.
E. Smith ended the quarter by beating the buzzer on a layup to enter the break with the Knights holding a 38-15 edge.
The Mount shot 16-for-46 from the field and 6-for-22 from beyond the arc in the first half.
The Beavers shot 5-of-20 from the field and just 1-of-3 from deep.
Second Half
The third quarter started in similar fashion as the second ended, with the Knights ripping off a 16-2 run through the first five minutes. Hughes scored ten points during the run as the Mount Saint Mary lead grew to 54-17.
Nolan nailed a three at the buzzer to end the third quarter, extending the Knights lead to 63-19.
The fourth quarter was even more dominant than the third for the Knights as they went on a 22-0 run through the first eight minutes and allowed just a single point in the entire quarter.
Katelyn McCann knocked down two triples during the run, the latter coming at the 3:32 mark as the Knights lead grew to 81-19.
Ava DiScala scored the Mount’s final points of the game, sinking a layup with 2:01 remaining as the Knights led 85-19.
The Mount shot 52.5-percent from the floor in the second half, including 30-percent from three.
CCNY shot just 7.1-percent from the field after halftime and were 0-for-10 from deep.
For The Knights
Hughes scored a game-high 12 points, shooting 6-for-10 from the field and added a team-high eight rebounds.
Nolan was good for 10 points, knocking down two triples on four attempts and adding seven rebounds.
E. Smith recorded a team-high three steals, while scoring eight points and dishing out three assists.
Katie Smith had seven points, six rebounds, and four assists in an all-around performance.
For The Beavers
Monae Laing scored a team-high eight points while pulling down a game-high 13 boards.
Kasia Morrison scored five points and hit the team’s lone triple and ripped down six rebounds.
The Knights will enter the holiday break for a few weeks before returning to action on January 3, when they host Farmingdale State in a Skyline Conference matchup.