Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team scored its seventh straight win on Thursday night with a convincing 74-57 triumph over visiting Sage. The Dolphins, who have the program's longest winning streak since the 2009-10 season, were led by 20 points from Kelly Fraser (Staten Island, N.Y.) and 11 assists from Christina Barone (Staten Island, N.Y.).
The Dolphins trailed for only 29 seconds on Thursday, when Amie Jefferson gave the Gators their only lead of the day on a bucket just over two minutes into the game. After falling behind 6-5, the Dolphins rallied with the next six points to jump in front 11-6 on a Barone lay-in with 15:37 left in the first half.
Sage would climb to within a single point twice over the next three minutes, but a 21-8 spurt to close the half sent Mount Saint Vincent into the intermission with a 36-22 advantage. Despite only shooting 39-percent in the first 20 minutes, the Dolphins turned 20 Sage turnovers into 19 points and posted a 24-10 edge in paint scoring. Barone led all players at the break with 12 points.
The Dolphins maintained a double-figure lead the entire second half on Thursday and pushed its advantage to 59-39 on a Barone jumper at the midway point of the period. The lead swelled to a game-high 22 points three times, including a pair of Fraser free-throws that moved the Mount in front 67-45 with just under five minutes left to play.
The Dolphins rounded out the evening shooting just shy of 40-percent in the game and held Sage to a 38.3-percent effort. The Mount dominated the paint in the game, outscoring Sage 44-32, and held a commanding 25-11 edge in points off of turnovers.
Fraser went 9-for-13 from the floor in the game on her way to the game-high point total, adding seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Nicole Oliver (Carmel, N.Y.) and Theresa Carey (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) each closed the night with eight points and seven rebounds for the Mount.
Barone posted her fourth double-double of the season in the game and reached double-figures in assists for the fourth time. She went 6-for-14 from the floor on her way to 14 points and added six rebounds, while matching her career-high with seven steals.
Sage was led by 18 points from Genevieve Schoff and received 13 points and three assists from Megan Bowman.
Thursday's win pushes Mount Saint Vincent to 12-2 overall on the season and to a perfect 3-0 in Skyline Conference play. Next up for the Dolphins is a trip to Farmingdale State on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off with the Rams is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.