EMMITSBURG, Md. – Mount St. Mary's made a statement in the first Northeast Conference (NEC) weekend after defeating St. Francis (N.Y.) 70-48 in NEC women's basketball action on Monday. Sydney Henderson (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) paced the Mount (4-4, 2-0 NEC) with 18 points to help the Mountaineers to their first 2-0 league start since 2005-06.

Henderson connected on 7 of 13 from the floor, including hitting her team-leading 17th 3-pointer of the season while also converted two free throws to finish the game with 18 points. It was Henderson's third game this season with at least 18 points. The junior also registered four rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Mariah Powell added a career-high nine points and four rebounds for Mount St. Mary's while Kelly Guerriero (Floral Park, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) nailed three treys to also finish the game with nine points. Rachel Mathews (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) was a force inside with seven points and a career-high eight rebounds.

Jaymee Veney fueled the Terriers (1-7, 0-2 NEC) with 17 points and seven rebounds while Jasmin Robinson added 15 points in the loss.

The two teams played close for the first eight minutes of the game before Mount St. Mary's went on a run and never looked back to improve to 4-4 on the year for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign. The Mountaineers were picked 11th in the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll.

After Colette Hounshell gave St. Francis (N.Y.) a 9-8 lead after hitting the second of two free throws at 12:43, the Mount went on an 18-4 run to take the lead for good.

Junior Selina Mann (Gainesville, Va./Battlefield) gave the Mountaineers the lead for good on consecutive baskets in the paint at 12:16 and 11:25 for a 12-9 lead. Veney hit a jumper at the 11-minute mark to make it a one-point game, but Henderson nailed a 3-pointer at 10:30 and Powell connected on 1 of 2 at the free throw line at 7:48 for a 16-11 edge.

Kayla Grossett (Toronto, Ontario/David and Mary Thompson C.I.) and Robinson traded baskets before Mount St. Mary's rolled off the next eight points to take a 26-13 lead with 3:31 left in the first half. Henderson started the surge with a layup at 5:21 before Jen Carney (Drexel Hills, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) nailed two free throws at 4:55. Mathews scored in the lane at 4:24 and Powell ended the run with two charity tosses at 3:31. The Terriers would close the half by scoring nine of the final 13 points to go into the locker room with Mount St. Mary's leading 30-22.

The Mount came out in the second half with an 8-2 run to restore the double-digit margin for the rest of the night. Sandra Andresson (Tallinn, Estonia/Audentes School) started the scoring in the second half with a jumper at 18:12. After Veney answered at 17:48, the Mountaineers scored the next six points thanks to a pair of Henderson baskets sandwiched in between an Andresson bucket for a 38-24 advantage at 16:39. Mount St. Mary's would push the lead to 20 points and went on for a 70-48 decision.

After starting the season 1-3, the Mount has won three of its last four contests. The Mount is 3-0 at Knott Arena for the seventh time in team history and for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Grossett added eight points while Mann chipped in seven points in the winning effort.

Mount St. Mary's returns to action on Saturday against Loyola. Game time is 4:30 p.m. The Mount will attempt to "Pack The House" against the Greyhounds. The Mount looks to break the women's basketball attendance record at the Mount and have the highest attendance total in the league for the game.