Riverdale, N.Y. – Paced by a balanced scoring attack , the College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team scored a 89-85 win over New Rochelle on Thursday to push its winning steak to open the season to four games. Theresa Carey (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) led five Dolphins in double-figures with 18 points, while freshman Christina Barone (Staten Island, N.Y.) handed out a career-high 12 assists.
Mount Saint Vincent jumped out to a four point lead in the early going on Thursday on a Daniela Arias (Woodside, N.Y.) free-throw at the 15:41 mark of the first half, but the Blue Angels used a 13-7 spurt to climb in front 15-13 on an Alyssa Pechin triple with 11:36 to play in the opening stanza.
The Dolphins would knot the score on a Brittany Lee (Newton, N.J.) bucket at the 10:35 mark that started a 22-12 run over nearly six minutes that pushed the Mount in front 35-27. Six different Dolphins scored in the run, led by six points from Lee, as the Dolphins went 9-for-16 from the floor over that stretch.
New Rochelle rallied back in a back-and-forth first half with a 19-7 run over the final 5:42 of the first half to head into the locker room with a 46-42. Jasmine Brandon carried the Blue Angels in the final six minutes with 11 points. The Dolphins hit a cold stretch, going just 2-for-10 from the field over the closing run.
Carey led the Dolphins at the break with 12 points, while New Rochelle placed three players in double-figures led by 16 points from Jah-Leah Ellis. The Dolphins scored 20 points off of 19 Blue Angel turnovers in the half and outscored the visitors 12-4 on the fast break.
The game remained tight through the second half, with the score being tied three times in the first 5:13 of the half. The Mount scored eight of the first 10 points of the period to pull in front 50-48 on a Kelly Fraser (Staten Island, N.Y.) bucket with 18:09 left in regulation.
New Rochelle answered back with the next eight pints to regain the lead, before the Dolphins moved back in front 60-57 following back-to-back three-point field goals from Brittany Carroll with just over 14 minutes remaining in regulation.
The Dolphins would lead by as many as five on a third Carroll triple and held the lead until a 9-4 stretch from the visitors capped by a Ellis conversion with 9:23 on the block moved them in front 70-69.
The two teams would trade the lead five more times over the course of the second half, before a Barone three-pointer with 4:25 left got the Dolphins in front 81-79. The Blue Angels would tie the score for a 13th time in the game on an Ellis free-throw at 2:36, but the Mount closed with eight of the final 12 points to seal their third home win of the season.
Carey rounded out the night with 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting to go along with five assists. Barone closed out her first career double-double with 14 points and the career-high assist total. A complete effort was rounded out with six steals and a pair of rebounds.
Lee scored in double-figures for the third straight game with 15 points, with Fraser and Carroll adding 14 and 12 respectively. Fraser blocked four shots and hauled in a team-high seven rebounds for the Dolphins on the night.
New Rochelle finished with three players with better than 20 points led by 29 from Brandon. Ellis tallied 27 times for the Blue Angels and Pechin finished with 22. Brandon collected a game-high 19 rebounds, Ellis secured 13 boards and Pechin handed out three assists and swiped three steals.
Mount Saint Vincent shot 41-percent from the floor on the night and 85-percent from the free-throw line. The Dolphins held a 35-18 edge in points off turnovers and an 18-6 advantage in fast break scoring. Points in the paint for the game were even at 36-36.
The win pushes Mount Saint Vincent to a perfect 4-0 on the season. The Dolphins will close out a three game home stand and play in the first semester on Sunday afternoon when they welcome Yeshiva to the Peter Jay Sharp Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.