Gwynedd Valley, PA – Gwynedd Mercy University built a 42-15 halftime lead after Keystone College struggled offensively in the first half of Monday night's Colonial States Athletic Conference women's basketball game and the Griffins cruised to a 86-54 victory over the Giants.  Gwynedd Mercy improves to 7-8 overall on the season and 4-2 in conference play while the Giants slip to 9-4 overall and 3-1 in the CSAC after dropping back-to-back games for the first time this season.  
 
Gwynedd Mercy scored the first eight points of Monday night's contest and after Keystone cut their deficit to three points, the Griffins used an 8-0 run to hold a 16-5 with 12:28 remaining in the first half.  The Giants trimmed the host's lead to 16-10 at the 10:47 mark when Jazmyn Robinson (Hyattsville, MD/Northwestern) converted a three-point play, but Gwynedd Mercy answered with 10-straight points to push their advantage to 26-10.  After a three-pointer by Samantha Donahue (Taylor, PA/Riverside) with 6:30 showing on the clock, the Griffins would go on to outscore Keystone 16-2 to close the half and take a 42-15 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
Lauren Smith led the Griffins with 13 points in the first half while Nicole Dougherty added eight points.  Natasha Matthews contributed seven points and eight rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of play for Gwynedd Mercy, who shot 40.5 percent from the floor in the period including a 6-12 effort from three-point range. 
 
Robinson scored five points in the first half to lead Keystone's offense while Chantel Blake (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) pulled down eight boards.  The Giants connected on just 18.2 percent of their field goal attempts in the period while going 2-11 from beyond the arc.
 
Keystone opened the second half strong, outscoring the Griffins 15-6 over the first 5:20 of the period to draw within 18 points, 48-30, at the 14:40 mark when Ashley Evans (Wooster, OH/Wooster) connected on a three pointer.  Gwynedd Mercy countered from downtown on their next possession to start an 18-4 run that gave the Griffins a commanding, 66-34 advantage midway through the period.  The hosts would lead by as many as 35 points while the Giants were unable to come closer than within 28 points.
 
Smith finished with a game-high 19 points while Kristen Fuery tallied 17 points for Gwynedd Mercy.  Matthews added a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Griffins, who held a 50-33 advantage on the glass.  Gwynedd Mercy shot 45.1 percent from the floor for the game including a solid, 54.5 (12-22) effort from beyond the arc while going 10-15 from the free throw line.

Blake led Keystone with a double-double of her own on 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.  Evans finished the night with 12 points, Alyssa Cuomo (Odessa, DE/Hodgson Vo-tech) added nine points, while Robinson and Donahue both ended the contest with seven points.  Robinson also finished with a game-high six assists in the loss. 
 
The Giants finished the night connecting on 34.4 percent of their field goal attempts, 35.3 percent from downtown, and went 6-8 from the charity stripe.
 
Keystone returns to action on Wednesday evening when they travel to Centenary College to take on the Cyclones in a CSAC matchup scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Hackettstown, NJ.