Recap courtesy of Mercy University Sports Information
DOBBS FERRY, NY – Powered by double-doubles from junior Angelina Barrera (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) and sophomore Amani Abuhatab (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) and a team-high 20 points from sophomore Grace Lesko (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area), the No. 3 seeded Mercy University women's basketball team earned a 73-49 win over No. 6 seeded University of the District of Columbia in an East Coast Conference (ECC) Women's Basketball Championship First Round matchup on Wednesday night at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (18-9) have won five games in a row and defeat the Firebirds (10-17) for the third time this season. Mercy advances to the Semifinals for the second straight year and will face No. 2 seed College of Staten Island in a Semifinal matchup on Saturday, March 8th at 2:30 p.m. at Daemen University.
Mercy was led by Lesko who had a team-high 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting with nine rebounds. Barrera had 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting with a game-high 13 rebounds and Abuhatab had 15 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the foul line with 10 rebounds. Freshman Caitlin Leary (Carle Place, N.Y./Carle Place) recorded six points and sophomore Molly Boek (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) contributed six points. Senior Kayla Halvorsen (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry) scored four points and freshman Morgan Miller (Branford, Conn./Sacred Heart Academy) and sophomore Paige Fourtin (Ansonia, Conn./Greens Farms Academy) each had three points.
UDC was led by Kensley Benjamin who had a game-high 22 points.
The score was tied at 8-8 with 4:09 left in the first quarter before Mercy closed the quarter on a 7-0 run, capped off by a Boek layup, to take a 15-8 lead after the first quarter.
A Benjamin three at the 6:28 mark of the second quarter cut the Mavericks' lead to three, 16-13. A Barrera free throw with 3:52 on the clock made it 19-13 before five straight UDC points made it 19-18 with 2:54 left in the half. Mercy scored the next seven points to take a 26-18 lead after two Halvorsen free throws before the Firebirds ended the half with five straight points to make it 26-23 in favor of Mercy at halftime.
UDC cut Mercy's lead to three again, 28-25, with 8:38 left in the third quarter. The Mavericks rallied with a 14-2 run, finished off by two more Halvorsen free throw, to take a 42-27 lead with 3:40 remaining in the quarter. UDC scored the next four points to make it 42-31 before Mercy closed the quarter on a 10-0 run, capped off by a Leary three, to take a 52-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
A Nia Ford three with 8:19 left made it 54-39, but the Mavericks came back on a 16-3 run to take their largest lead of the game, 70-42, after two Miller free throws with 2:39 remaining. Mercy cruised the rest of the way and earned the 73-49 win.
Mercy shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the floor, 25.0 percent (4-of-16) from downtown and 73.0 percent (27-of-37) from the foul line. UDC shot 30.2 percent (19-of-63) from the field, 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from beyond the arc and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 41-35 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Scott Lagas and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, March 8th when they face No. 2 seed Staten Island in an ECC Championship Semifinal matchup at 2:30 p.m. at Daemen.