Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team fell for the fourth straight contest on Thursday night after a 65-46 home loss to league rival Old Westbury. The Dolphins had just one player score in double-figures on the night, with sophomore Andree DeLeon (Flushing, N.Y.) pacing the Dolphins with 10 points.
After the two teams traded buckets in the first minute of the game, Old Westbury used a 15-2 run over nearly seven and a half minutes to open a 17-4 lead with 11:38 left before halftime. Although a Bragilyn Ates (Yonkers, N.Y.) triple halted the run by the Panthers, the Mount would suffer another drought, not scoring again for nearly another three minutes.
Old Westbury grabbed its biggest lead of the half in the final 1:39 of the period after a pair of free-throws from DeAndra Scott. Leading 35-17 at the half, Old Westbury shot 38.9-percent from the floor, but swiped 10 steals and converted 15 points off of turnovers. The Panthers also held the Mount to just five field goals in the first 20 minutes and a 20.8 field goal percentage.
Old Westbury would not let its lead shrink under 17 points in the second half and had its advantage bulge to as many as 25 points in the final six minutes. The Panthers would outscore the Mount by only a single point in the second half, but used 16 points in the paint in the second half to cruise to the final 19 point decision.
Both teams struggled overall from the floor in the contest, with Old Westbury shooting just 35.2-percent for the game and the Dolphins converting just 22.8-percent of their opportunities. Mount Saint Vincent failed to shoot better then 40-percent for the fifth time this season and was held under 30-percent for the second straight contest. The loss also sends the Mount to the slowest start to a season since the 2004-05 campaign when it started 0-5.
DeLeon went just 2-for-10 from the floor on Tuesday, but converted six of her eight free-throw attempts to secure the team-high point total. She also grabbed five rebounds and handed out a pair of assists. Katie Foley (Valley Stream, N.Y.) came off the bench to lead the team in rebounds with eight, while Sarah Kluth (Lynbrook, N.Y.) and Kara McNish (Hawthorne, N.J.) each secured seven boards. Kluth also swiped four steals in the contest.
Old Westbury (3-1, 2-0 Skyline) was led by 13 points from Kim Weathers and 11 from Brittany Jones. Ruth Vargas and DeAndra Scott each posted eight rebounds and the Panthers had a trio of players record three steals.
The loss, just the fourth in the last 13 meetings with Old Westbury, drops Mount Saint Vincent to 1-4 overall on the season and to 0-2 in Skyline Conference play. The Dolphins will be back in action again on Saturday when they travel to NYU-POLY. Tip-off with the Blue Jays is set for 2:00 p.m.