Bronx, N.Y. – Senior Kerry O'Connor (Bethpage, N.Y.) scored a career-high 21 points and sophomore Andree DeLeon (Flushing, N.Y.) added a career-best 14 as the College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team edged Lehman on the road Monday night by a score of 60-57. O'Connor knocked down three triples in the game, including the game tying bucket with 1:43 remaining in regulation.
The tightly contested game on Monday featured 11 ties and 18 lead changes, with the largest lead coming at the 10:37 mark of the first half when Amanda De La Cruz converted a bucket to push Lehman in front by five points at 13-8.
O'Connor would give the lead back to the Mount at the 3:58 mark when she drilled a triple for a 19-18 advantage. Lehman would get the lead back on a three from Jaleesa Gordon with 1:31 left in the half, but the Dolphins would convert three free-throws over the final 1:03 to take a 29-26 lead into the locker room.
The second half was much the same as the first with the two teams playing to seven ties and 12 led changes. The Lightning would jump in front by three points after a Paula Robinson jumper with 2:06 remaining in the tilt, until O'Connor responded with her final trey of the game to knot the score at 57-57. Brittany Griffin (Suffern, N.Y.) and O'Connor would combine for three free-throws over the final 56 seconds as the Mount hung on for the season opening victory.
O'Connor went 6-for-17 from the field overall on Monday, including 3-for-11 from behind the arc. She also added a steal and five rebounds. DeLeon finished up 5-for-13 from the floor for her career-high 14 points and also added five boards and a team-high four assists.
Griffin rounded out a trio in double-figures for the Dolphins with 10 points and also collected five rebounds. Classmate Kara McNish (Hawthorne, N.J.) led the team with nine rebounds and chipped in with seven points and a pair of assists.
Lehman also had three players score in double-figures on the night with Louvinia Hayes leading the way with 16 points and a game-high five assists. De La Cruz added 14 for the Lightning and Gordon chipped in with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Overall on the night Mount Saint Vincent shot 37-percent from the floor and just 56.7-percent from the charity stripe. The Dolphins did hold a commanding 52-37 edge on the glass, including 25 offensive rebounds leading to 16 second chance points.
The win moves Mount Saint Vincent to 1-0 overall on the season heading into the weekend's action at the Scotty Wood Tournament in Allentown, Pa. The Dolphins will square off with host Muhlenberg on Friday at 6:00 p.m.