Riverdale, N.Y. – Senior Kelly Fraser (Staten Island, N.Y.) scored her 1,000th career point in the College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team's impressive 79-50 win over St. Joseph's-Brooklyn on Thursday in the team's home opener. Fraser becomes the sixth player to join the 1,000 point club since the start of the 2003-04 season.
After falling behind by five points in the early going, Fraser converted a layup at the 12:54 mark of the first half to push her past the 1,000 mark plateau and give the Dolphins a 12-11 lead. The bucket was part of a 13-3 run covering just over three minutes that saw the Mount move in front 20-14 on a Fraser layup on the fast break.
Fraser's layup at 12:54 would give Mount Saint Vincent the lead for good in the game as the Dolphins carried a 36-29 advantage into halftime. Despite shooting 23.8-percent from the floor in the opening stanza, the Dolphins made two more three-pointers and three more free-throws than the visitors to build the lead.
Sophomore Brittany Carroll (Staten Island, N.Y.) led all scorers at the break with 14 points after knocking down three triples in the first half and going 4-for-8 from the field overall. Christina Barone (Staten Island, N.Y.) added eight points and Fraser hauled in eight rebounds before the break.
Coming out of halftime, Mount Saint Vincent built its lead to double-figures for the first time on a Fraser layup that moved the Mount in front 40-29 at the 18:04 mark of the second half. The lead would not fall under double digits the rest of the night and ballooned to 78-47 on a Kelly Nola (Staten Island, N.Y.) bucket with 2:08 left to play.
Mount Saint Vincent went 18-for-39 from the floor after halftime and collected 14 offensive rebounds leading to a 19-0 advantage in second chance points in the final 20 minutes. Barone scored 10 points after the break with Theresa Carey (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) and Morgan Dewberry (San Diego, Calif.) adding six points each.
Carroll and Barone each closed the night with 18 points, combining to make five of the team's seven three-point field goals. Carroll went 6-for-13 overall from the floor and 3-for-10 from bonus distance, while Barone finished 5-for-14 overall, 2-for-3 from three-point range and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Barone also chipped in with nine assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Fraser reached double-figures in scoring for the fourth time this season with 11 points and posted her fourth double-double of the season with a team-high 12 rebounds. She finished 5-for-17 from the field to go along with a pair of blocked shots. She became the first player to reach 1,000 points at the Mount since Lauren Percodani achieved the milestone on February 15, 2010 against the City College of New York.
Dewberry came off the bench on Thursday to finish with eight points, six rebounds and two blocked shots, while Carey closed out the night with nine points and eight rebounds.
St. Joseph's-Brooklyn received a double-double from Samantha Retas who finished with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds and Destiny Marino chipped in with 10 points and a pair of steals.
The Dolphins shot 34.6-percent for the game and an even 35-percent from three-point range. Mount Saint Vincent finished with and 29-10 advantage in points off of turnovers and turned 27 offensive rebounds into a 29-6 edge in second chance scoring.
Thursday's victory is the fourth straight for the Dolphins and moves them to 5-1 overall on the season. Mount Saint Vincent will return to the road on Saturday for a non-conference date with Worcester State. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.