EMMITSBURG, Md. - Cassie Cooke (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) posted 14 points to lead Mount St. Mary's past Bryant 56-51 in Northeast Conference (NEC) women's basketball action on Saturday.

Cooke paced the Mount with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. The freshman dished out the assist on Leah Westbrooks' (Dublin, Ireland/Holy Faith Secondary) basket at the 5:34 mark to break a 47-all tie and give the Mount (10-16, 6-10 NEC) the lead it would not relinquish. Cooke then made two free throws to increase the margin to four points.

Mary Dunn (Whippany, N.J./Morris Catholic) added seven points, eight rebounds, five steals and three assists while Lauren Howell (Quinton, N.J./Sacred Heart) added eight points in the winning effort.

Siamone Bennett fueled the Bulldogs (12-15, 9-7 NEC) with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Danielle Douglas chipped in 10 points in the loss.

The two teams battled back and forth until Mount St. Mary's took the lead for good in the final six minutes and never looked back to earn its second-straight victory.

After Kelsey O'Keefe made two free throws at 5:57 to tie the game at 47, Cooke found Westbrooks for the go-ahead basket 23 seconds later to give the Mount the lead for good. Cooke made two free throws at 4:08 and Dunn converted the frontend of two charity tosses at 3:02 before Hassanah Oliver (Hillside, N.J./Hillside) scored in the paint at 1:31 to hand the Mountaineers a 54-47 advantage.

Bryant rallied with baskets by Kristin Mraz at 1:18 and Bennett with 52 seconds left to trim the margin to 54-51. After two missed three throws, Bennett grabbed the rebound with 16 seconds on the clock. Mraz had her 3-point attempt bounce off the rim and into the hands of Oliver with six seconds left. The senior then sealed the win with two free throws.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-1 lead to start the contest thanks to four points from Douglas. Mount St. Mary's answered with a 20-5 run to grab a 21-13 lead with 7:22 left in the first half. Six different players scored in the run while Sandra Andresson (Tallinn, Estonia/Audentes School) capped the spurt with five-straight points.

Bryant rallied with a 12-6 run to make it a two-point game with 2:31 left in the first stanza. Bennett and Douglas each had four points in the stretch to near bring the Bulldogs back. Howell and Meredith Soper then traded baskets before Sydney Henderson (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) drained two free throws with four ticks on the clock to give the Mountaineers a 31-27 lead going into the locker room.

Powered by three points by Bennett, Bryant scored the first seven points of the final frame to take a 34-31 advantage with 15:43 remaining. The Bulldogs maintained the slight advantage for the next four minutes until Mount St. Mary's squared the contest at 36 with 11:57 left after Dunn hit 1 of 2 at the line.

The two teams then traded points back and forth for the next 10 scoring chances. With the score tied at 47, Westbrooks scored off a Cooke assist and the Mount held on for the five-point victory.

With the win, Mount St. Mary's remaining one game ahead of Quinnipiac and Fairleigh Dickinson for the final playoff spot with two games to play.

The Mount returns to action on Thursday at home against Saint Francis (Pa.). Game time is 5 p.m.