Poughkeepsie, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team dropped its third straight contest on Monday night with a 71-60 non-conference loss at Vassar. Three Dolphins scored in double-figures on the night with Kara McNish (Hawthorne, N.J.) and Desiree Rosa (Dumont, N.J.) each collecting new career-highs.
Tuesday night's tilt was an evenly played contest throughout with the Dolphins leading by one point at 27-26 at the intermission. Overall the game featured 11 ties and 20 lead changes with the largest lead of the first period coming when Vassar's Brittany Parks converted a fast break bucket to push the Brewers in front 18-13 at the midway point.
Mount Saint Vincent would answer with a quick 6-0 run to take a one point lead and would net 14 of the final 22 points of the period to take the slim advantage into the locker room. Senior Kerry O'Connor (Bethpage, N.Y.) scored nine of her team-high 17 points before the break and knocked down two of the Mount's three triples in the frame.
The Dolphins came out of halftime and used a 10-4 run capped by a Sarah Kluth (Lynbrook, N.Y.) basket to take their largest lead of the game at 37-32 just under four and a half minutes into the second half. O'Connor helped key the run with two more triples.
The two teams would swap the lead over the middle stages of the half until Vassar used a 12-2 run to open a game-high 11 point lead with 2:18 left in regulation. Parks capped the run with a big three-pointer and Vassar converted four free-throws in the final 1:11 to hang on for the victory.
Overall all in the game, both teams shot below 40-percent from the floor, but Vassar converted four more field goals and went a perfect 15-for-15 from the free-throw line. The Dolphins misfired on seven attempts from the charity stripe and finished the game 9-for-16 overall.
O'Connor continued her strong play for the Dolphins after going 5-for-11 overall from the floor and 4-for-9 from behind the arc. She also chipped in with four rebounds and has now knocked down 11 three-pointers in her last three contests. Over that span she is averaging 16.3 points per game and is shooting better then 47-percent from behind the arc.
McNish recorded her fifth double-double of the season for Mount Saint Vincent after netting a career-high 15 points and pulling in a team-high 13 rebounds. She finished up 6-for-13 from the floor and blocked a pair of shots for the Dolphins. Rosa came off the bench to provide a spark and posted a career-high 10 points.
Vassar was led by 19 points from Parks to go along with six boards and a game-high five assists. Cyndi Matsuoka added 16 points for the Brewers and four assists, while Hannah Senftleber poured in 17 points and collected a game-high 15 rebounds.
The non-conference loss is Mount Saint Vincent's third straight after a four game winning streak and drops it to 6-10 overall on the season. The Dolphins will look to rebound on Wednesday night when they return home to host league rival Sage. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.