Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team closed out the season on Saturday afternoon with a 65-58 home win over NYU-POLY. Kelly Fraser (Staten Island, N.Y.) led four Dolphins in double-figures with 11 points, while Kara McNish (Hawthorne, N.J.) totaled her 11th double-double of the season.
Tightly contested throughout, the Dolphins jumped out to a 12-7 lead at the 14:21 mark of the first half after Andrea Sinaly (Middle Village, N.Y.) hit a jumper to close out a quick 6-0 Mount Saint Vincent spurt.
Mount Saint Vincent would match the half-high lead at the 13:30 mark after a McNish conversion, before NYU-POLY rallied with a 10-5 stretch to pull in front 25-21 with 3:45 left in the first half.
The Dolphins defense would go on to hold the Blue Jays without a point over the final 3:45 and put together an 8-0 run to head to the locker room with a 29-25 halftime advantage.
The Mount outscored NYU-POLY 20-12 in the paint in the first half and had eight different players find the scoring column. Brittany Griffin (Suffern, N.Y.) led the way with eight points and six rebounds.
NYU-POLY came out of the half with the first four points to knot the score at 29-29 after a Corine Fitzgibbons bucket at the 18:53 mark. The Blue Jays would not be able to pull in front, however, until a Tabitha Larsen basket closed a 7-2 run for the Blue Jays with 12:14 remaining.
With 11:57 left in the contest, Fraser canned a big three-pointer for the Dolphins to get them back in front by a score of 39-37. The Dolphins would extend the lead to five points twice over the next four minutes, before the visiting Blue Jays wrestled the lead back with a 6-0 run capped by a Catherine Thompson bucket in the paint.
The two teams would trade the lead three times in rest of the way, before the Dolphins ripped off a 10-3 run to pull in front for good with 1:57 left. Desiree Rosa (Dumont, N.J.) and Fraser each canned big three-pointers over the stretch for the Mount.
NYU-POLY would get its disadvantage down to two points with 1:25 left in regulation after a Shelby Bruns basket, but Mount Saint Vincent would knock down eight free-throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Mount Saint Vincent finished the game shooting an even 39-percent from the floor and went 4-for-9 from behind the arc. The Dolphins outrebounded NYU-POLY 53-37 and outscored the Blue Jays 28-20 in the paint.
Fraser finished the day with 11 of the team's 22 bench points after going 4-for-9 from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 from long range. She also ripped down seven rebounds for the Dolphins.
Griffin, McNish and Rosa all finished with 10 points on the day, with McNish leading the team with 11 rebounds. Sage Owens (Narrowsburg, N.Y.) also had a solid day for the Mount with seven points and seven caroms. Sinaly led the team with five assists to go along with nine points.
NYU-POLY was paced by 24 points from Bruns who went 10-for-19 from the floor overall. She rounded out a double-double effort with 11 boards and also handed out four assists and swiped four steals.
Larsen netted 14 points for the Blue Jays and matched the game-high with five assists. Margaux Pickell scored six points, hauled in seven rebounds and swiped four steals.
With the win, Mount Saint Vincent rounds out the 2011-12 season with a 7-17 record and a 3-11 mark in Skyline Conference play.
Game Notes: Prior to the game Brittany Griffin and Kara McNish were honored on Senior Day. The duo was a part of 51 victories during their careers and helped the Dolphins to two ECAC Tournament berths.