EMMITSBURG, Md. – Ashley Christie (Miamisburg, Ohio/Archbishop Alter) gave Mount St. Mary's the lead for good with 7:35 remaining and hit a crucial basket down the stretch to lift the Mount past Loyola 59-54 in non-conference women's basketball action on Saturday.

Christie finished the game with 14 points, but six of her points came at two big points in the game for the Mountaineers. After the Greyhounds (3-5) took a 34-33 lead with 7:52 left, the sophomore answered right back for Mount St. Mary's (5-4) with a layup to give the Mount the lead for good. With the hosts clinging to a two-point lead, Christie nailed a 3-pointer from the corner and was fouled on the play with 2:22 remaining. She then converted the free throw to complete the 3-point play and Loyola would get no closer the rest of the way.

Selina Mann (Gainesville, Va./Battlefield) stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals while Sydney Henderson (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) added nine points and Sandra Andresson (Tallinn, Estonia/Audentes School) chipped in eight points the winning effort.

Mount St. Mary's, who has won four of its last five games, is on a three-game winning streak and has won five of the first nine games for the first time since the 1999-00 season.

Katie Sheahin paced the Greyhounds with 19 points while Nneka Offidile and Kara Marshall each added nine points in the loss.

The Mount controlled the lead for the majority of the afternoon, but Loyola grabbed a one-point advantage twice in the second half. Mount St. Mary's regained the lead and held on for the victory to win its first game in the series since the rivalry was renewed in 2006.

After the Greyhounds took a 34-33 lead on Nai Brown's layup at 7:52, the Mountaineers scored the next six points. Christie started the run with a layup at 7:35 to give the squad the lead it would not relinquish. Jessie Kaufman (Damascus, Md./Damascus) nailed a 3-pointer at 7:08 and Henderson hit the frontend of two free throws with 6:37 left for a 39-34 advantage.

Loyola scored seven of the next 11 points to make it a two-point game. Offidile had five points in that stretch to cut the margin to 43-41 with 2:51 remaining. Christie then drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner and was fouled on the play 27 seconds later. The sophomore then converted the free throw to give the Mountaineers a 47-41 margin. The Greyhounds would trim the margin to 58-54 with eight seconds left, but Christie would seal the win with a free throw with four ticks left.

Mount St. Mary's grabbed the lead for the opening tip on an Andresson layup 45 seconds into the contest. The Mount maintained between a two and six-point advantage throughout most of the first half. With the Mountaineers holding an 18-14 lead with 5:15 left in the first half, Henderson hit a free throw at 2:58 and Kayla Grossett (Toronto, Ontario/David and Mary Thompson C.I.) nailed a trey at 2:26 to give the Mount a 22-14 lead going into the locker room.

Mount St. Mary's grabbed its largest lead at 25-16 on a Christie 3-pointer 61 seconds into the second half. Loyola used a 14-4 run over the next six minutes to take a 30-29 lead. Nicole Krusen powered the run with five points.

Rachel Mathews (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) answered with a layup at 12:10 to restore the lead for the Mount before Andresson hit a jumper at 11:35 for a 33-30 edge.

Sheahin and Brown scored consecutive baskets in the paint to give the Greyhounds its final lead at 34-33 before Christie scored on a layup and the Mountaineers went on for its third-straight win.

Mount St. Mary's has won three consecutive for the first time since the final three regular season games of the 2008-09 season. The Mountaineers have won their first four games at Knott Arena for the sixth time in program history and the first since the 1997-98 campaign. Loyola is the Mount's oldest rival as the Greyhounds were the opponent in Mount St. Mary's first official game on Dec. 4, 1974.

The Mount returns to action at West Virginia on Dec. 20. Game time is 7 p.m.