Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team got back into the win column on Saturday evening with a convincing 77-32 Skyline Conference home win over St. Joseph's-L.I. Three Dolphins scored in double-figures, led by a game-high 15 points from senior Kelly Fraser (Staten Island, N.Y.).
Mount Saint Vincent was never challenged in the contest and held the visitors without a field goal over the first 11:07 of the contest. The Dolphins outscored St. Joseph's 21-5 over that stretch, going 8-for-18 from the floor and holding the visitors to a 1-for-18 effort. Brittany Carroll (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the Mount in the opening surge with six points.
After allowing a three-point field goal with 8:53 left in the first half, the Dolphins allowed just six more points in the opening period on their way to a commanding 37-11 lead after 20 minutes of play. Mount Saint Vincent held St. Joseph's to 3-for-29 shooting in the opening stanza and outscored the Golden Eagles 14-0 in the paint and 18-3 off of turnovers.
Eight different Dolphins found the scoring column before halftime on Saturday, with Carroll leading the way with 11 points, knocking down three three-point field goals before halftime. Morgan Dewberry (San Diego, Calif.) scored seven of the team's 16 first half bench points and Christina Barone (Staten Island, N.Y.) assisted on half of the Mount's 12 conversions in the first half.
Mount Saint Vincent did not let St. Joseph's closer than 26 points in the second half and opened a game-high 45 point lead twice in the final 1:21 of regulation. Sophomore Gabriella Melgar (Branford, Conn.) pushed the Dolphins in front 74-29 with a jumper at the 1:21 mark of the second half and then a three-pointer from Melgar with just under a minute left to play gave the Mount the final 77-32 advantage.
Mount Saint Vincent allowed only three second half field goals on its way to holding an opponent under 40 points for the fourth time this season. The Mount defense held the Golden Eagles to a season best 11.1-percent shooting effort and allowed a season best six field goals. Four of the Golden Eagles' six makes in the game came from behind the arc and half of their 32 points came from the free-throw line.
Fraser finished the game 7-for-12 from the floor in leading the team in scoring and added a team-high nine rebounds and a game-high four blocked shots. Carroll finished the game with 12 points and Alexandra Gundermann (Tuxedo, N.Y.) came off the bench to score 10 points, reaching double-figures for the third time this season.
Barone led all players with seven assists to go along with five steals, six points and five rebounds. Allison Clarke (East Northport, N.Y.) chipped in with eight points and six rebounds for Mount Saint Vincent.
For the game, Mount Saint Vincent shot 40.9-percent from the floor and went 10-for-19 from three-point range. The Dolphins dominated the paint, outscoring the Golden Eagles 32-2 inside, and also held a commanding edge in points off of miscues after turning 28 St. Joseph's turnovers in 23 points.
Saturday's win moves Mount Saint Vincent to 13-3 overall on the season and to 4-1 in Skyline Conference play. Next up for the Dolphins is a trip to Old Westbury on Monday night. The league tilt with the Panthers is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.