EMMITSBURG, Md. – Senior Brianna Gauthier (Severna Park, Md./St. Mary's) put on a display in her final game at Knott Arena, scoring a career-high 32 points to lead Mount St. Mary's past Bryant 71-68 in non-conference women's basketball action on Monday.

The Mount (14-15) will play top-seed and host Sacred Heart in the Northeast Conference Tournament Quarterfinals on Saturday. Game time is 12 p.m. It marks the third meeting against the Pioneers in the last five years in the league postseason.

Gauthier connected on 10 of 19 shots from the floor, 4 of 9 from behind the arc and 8 of 8 from the free throw line to become the first player to record 30 points in a contest since Dominique Mazzuchi registered 30 points at Central Connecticut State on Jan. 18, 2008. It also marked the first time a Mountaineer scored 30 points at home since Dita Krumberga recorded 31 points against Quinnipiac on Feb. 24, 2007. Gauthier also notched four rebounds, three assists and three steals in the win.

Mary Dunn (Whippany, N.J./Morris Catholic) added 11 points and eight rebounds and Lauren Howell (Quinton, N.J./Sacred Heart) chipped in eight points for Mount St. Mary's.

Cara Johnson and Siamone Bennett paced the Bulldogs (11-18) with 15 points apiece while Kelsey O'Keefe and Jamie Campbell each posted 14 points in the loss.

Despite trailing by double figures in the second half, the Mount went on a big run and held on for the win against Bryant to notch its most wins since the 2000-01 season.

Trailing 46-37 with 16:23 left, Mount St. Mary's went on a 22-7 run to take the lead it would not relinquish. Gauthier started the run with back-to-back 3-pointers to trim the deficit to 46-43 with 14:10 on the clock. After Courtney Schermerhorn hit 1 of 2 at the line with 17 seconds later, Dunn posted a layup and converted a traditional 3-point play to hand the Mount its first lead since early in the game at 48-47 at the 13-minute mark.

Bennett responded with a traditional 3-point play at 11:36 to give Bryant a 50-48 lead. Westbrooks tied the game at 50 on a basket in the paint at 11:17 before Campbell scored in the lane at 10:36 to restore a two-point edge.

Gauthier then started a 9-0 run to give the Mountaineers the lead for good on a layup after she made a steal to tie the game at 52. Howell then nailed a 3-ball to hand the Mount the advantage to stay with 9:14 remaining before Gauthier hit two free throws and Courtney Nyce (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) scored on a layup for a 59-52 lead with 8:11 on the clock.

The Bulldogs cut the margin to one possession four times the rest of the way, but could not even the score. With Mount St. Mary's holding a 65-58 lead, O'Keefe nailed a trey at 3:24 and Johnson recorded a basket to trim the score to 65-63, but Howell drained two charity tosses at 1:46 to restore a four-point edge. Bennett hit a jumper before Dunn and Hassanah Oliver (Hillside, N.J./Hillside) each hit 1 of 2 at the line and Leah Westbrooks (Dublin, Ireland/Holy Faith Secondary School) nailed two free throws for a 71-65 lead with 10 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Bryant held the lead in the first half for 18 minutes and 16 seconds to go into the locker room with a 34-29 advantage. The Bulldogs largest lead in the stanza was nine points with 3:39 left in the stanza thanks to a 13-6 run fueled by six points from Johnson.

Gauthier went on a 7-0 run of her own to cut the deficit to 31-29 with 1:11 left in the half, but Schermerhorn hit the front end of two free throws and Bennett scored in the paint as time expired for the five-point edge at the break.