EMMITSBURG, Md. – Lauren Howell (Quinton, N.J./Sacred Heart) scored a season-high 21 points to lead Mount St. Mary's past St. Francis (N.Y.) 63-45 in Northeast Conference (NEC) women's basketball action on Monday.

Howell connected on 8 of 14 shots from the floor and 5 of 11 from behind the arc to finish the contest two points shy of her career high. The sophomore also registered four assists and two rebounds in 34 minutes.

Brianna Gauthier (Severna Park, Md./St. Mary's) added 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals for the Mount (11-14, 6-9 NEC) while Mary Dunn (Whippany, N.J./Morris Catholic) tallied 12 points and six rebounds in the winning effort.

Cecelia Herald paced the Terriers (4-21, 3-12 NEC) with a career-best 12 points and eight rebounds, and Shannon Gantt matched her career high with 11 points in the loss.

Mount St. Mary's held St. Francis (N.Y.) scoreless for eight minutes and 26 seconds in the first half and went on an 11-0 run to take the lead it would not relinquish and earn the season-series sweep against the Terriers.

With St. Francis (N.Y.) holding a 6-2 lead with 15:26 left in the first half, the Mountaineers scored the next 11 points. Dunn started the surge by making the first of two free throws at 13:14 before Sandra Andresson (Tallinn, Estonia/Audentes School) cut the margin to one point at 6-5 on a jumper at 12:21. Gauthier then drilled a 3-pointer to hand Mount St. Mary's the lead it would not relinquish at 8-6 with 11:35 on the clock. After Dunn completed a traditional 3-point play at 10:48, Gauthier capped the run with a jumper at 9:07 for a 13-6 advantage.

The Terriers then scored seven of the next nine points to cut the margin to 15-13 thanks to seven points from Gantt. Howell answered for the Mount with a 3-pointer at 4:59, but Herald hit two free throws at 4:32 to trim the margin to two points.

Howell responded with another 3-ball at 3:10 to start a 10-0 run. After Howell hit that trey, she connected on a jumper at 2:32 before Shanda Anderson (Egg Harbor, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) notched a fast-break layup at the two minute mark and Gauthier capped the run with a 3-poiner at 1:01 for a 28-16 lead. The Mount went into to locker room with a 30-23 margin.

Sparked by 10 points from Howell, the Mountaineers started the second half on a 24-4 run to open up a 54-27 lead at the 9:37 mark. Mount St. Mary's grabbed its biggest lead of the night of 28 points with 2:31 remaining. The Terriers closed the game on a 10-0 in the final 2:31, but the Mount came away with the win to inch closer to its 20th-consecutive NEC Tournament berth.

Gauthier moved into 22nd place on the program's all-time career scoring list with 1,048 points, one point shy of former teammate Samira Rashid (1,049, 2002-06). The senior also moved into ninth place for career assists with 319. Howell moved into eighth place for career made 3-pointers with 95.

The Mount returns to action on Saturday at home against Saint Francis (Pa.). Game time is 3 p.m. During the Mountaineers contests against the Red Flash, fans who wear pink and donate $2 to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund will get admitted to the game for free. Mount St. Mary's will give away pink t-shirts to the first 250 fans in attendance.