NEWBURGH, N.Y. – In a showdown of the two remaining undefeated teams in the Skyline Conference, Mount Saint Mary College surged out to a 21-1 advantage and never looked back on their way to a 71-35 victory over the Polytechnic Institute of NYU. The Knights moved to 9-2 overall (6-0 Skyline), while the Blue Jays dropped to 7-2 (5-1 Skyline).
Junior Jen Mocanu (Belford, N.J.) and sophomore Kate Hartnett (Floral Park, N.Y.) each scored four points during an opening 11-0 run for the Knights. NYU-Poly broke up the shutout with a free throw at the 15:10 mark, but wouldn't put home a field goal until more than eight minutes had elapsed.
Mount Saint Mary would limit the Blue Jays to just seven field goals in the opening half and a shooting percentage of 25.9-percent. The Knights built a 43-16 lead at the break thanks to 13 points from senior Jess Tice (Altamont, N.Y.). Hartnett finished with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the opening 20 minutes.
NYU-Poly would get no closer than 26 points in the second half as the stifling defense continued for the Mount. The Blue Jays shot just 8-of-29 (27.6-percent) in the second period to finish at 26.8-percent for the contest.
On top of the effort from Tice and Hartnett, junior Amanda Horvers (Kingston, N.Y.) added 11 points on 3-of-7 from downtown. Sophomore Charneice McCullough (Wyandanch, N.Y.) also totaled 11 points and grabbed six rebounds to go along with a team-high four assists. Sophomore Becky Metzger (Point Pleasant, N.J.) collected a team-high 10 rebounds for the Knights.
Senior Kristin Leitheuser (Pleasant Valley, N.Y.) led NYU-Poly with 14 points and nine rebounds, but shot just 5-of-15 from the floor. Junior Margaux Pickell (Howell, N.J.) added eight points and 12 boards, but fared even worse from the field at a 4-for-17 clip. The Blue Jays finished with 25 turnovers.
Up next for the Knights is the defending Skyline Conference champion, Farmingdale State College. The Rams will be making their first appearance in the Kaplan Center since knocking off the Mount in last year's tournament championship game. The tip is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. as part of a double-header on Saturday, January 8.