Farmingdale, N.Y. – Led by 23 points from senior Kelly Fraser (Staten Island, N.Y.) and 19 points from sophomore Brittany Carroll (Staten Island, N.Y.), the College of Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team cruised to its first ever Skyline Conference title with an overwhelming 76-50 win at top seed Farmingdale State. Fraser was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after averaging 21 points over two games.
Mount Saint Vincent took control of the game early on Saturday, using a 13-2 run to open a 17-6 lead on a Fraser lay-in 9:30 into the contest. An Andrea Desvignes jumper for the Rams brought them to within nine points, but the Dolphins expanded their advantage to 31-10 following a 14-2 run. Over the nearly five minute stretch, the Dolphins went 5-for-8 from the floor and held Farmingdale State to one conversion in seven attempts.
The Dolphins held the Rams without a field goal over the final 2:39 of the first half and got a conversion from Fraser and a pair of free-throws from Theresa Carey (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) in the final 90 seconds of the half to take a 35-14 lead into the intermission.
Although the Dolphins shot just 34.1-percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, they turned Farmingdale State over 12 times and held a 10-4 edge in points off of miscues at the break. The Dolphins outscored Farmingdale State 20-12 in the paint and held the top seed in the tournament to 18.2-percent shooting. Fraser led all scorers at the break with 13 points.
Mount Saint Vincent kept the pressure on Farmingdale State coming out of halftime and quickly built its lead to 43-15 after scoring eight of the first nine points of the half. The Dolphins did not allow the Rams closer than 26 points the rest of the afternoon and took a game-high 37 point lead four times in the final 7:07 of regulation. Alexandra Gundermann (Tuxedo, N.Y.) gave the Mount a 72-35 lead on a three-pointer with 5:02 remaining in the game.
The Dolphins shot just under 61-percent from the floor after halftime and went4-for-9 from behind the arc as it put 41 points on the board after the break. The Mount scored 22 points in the paint in the second stanza and got 11 points from Carroll, who hit three triples, and 10 points from Fraser.
Fraser posted her team leading 17th double-double of the season in the game after leading all scorers on 10-for-22 shooting to go along with 17 rebounds and four assists. Over two games in the Skyline Conference Tournament, Fraser averaged 21.0 points and 13.0 rebounds while shooting 47.5-percent from the floor.
Carroll wrapped up the game 5-for-9 from three-point range on her way to 19 points, adding three rebounds and a pair of assists. Sophomore Christina Barone (Staten Island, N.Y.) continued her strong play with nine points, nine rebounds and a game-high 11 assists.
Junior Nicole Oliver (Carmel, N.Y.) finished 4-for-6 from the floor with eight points and six rebounds and Carey added six points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Farmingdale State was led by 20 points from Desvignes and got a double-double from Nicole Lanteri who totaled 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
For the game, Mount Saint Vincent shot 44.9-percent from the floor and knocked down six of their 18 three-point field goal attempts. The Mount outscored Farmingdale State 42-24 in the paint and turned 18 offensive rebounds into a 15-9 edge in second chance scoring.
With Saturday's victory, Mount Saint Vincent stands at 22-5 overall on the season. With the most wins in a season on record, the Dolphins will learn their opponent in the NCAA Tournament on Monday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
Game Notes: The Dolphins won their first Skyline Conference Championship in their second title game appearance…The margin of victory (26) is the largest since Mount Saint Mary defeated Farmingdale State 86-56 in the 2009 final…The Mount lost both regular season meetings with Farmingdale State by a total of nine points...Check back to www.CMSVathletics for selection shot information.