MOUNT ST. MARY'S vs. LONG ISLAND
Saturday, January 4 | 5:00 p.m.
Emmitsburg, Md. | Knott Arena
NEC FRONT ROW (Adam Pohl, PxP) | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES
EMMITSBURG, Md. (Jan. 3, 2020) – Mount St. Mary's women's basketball seeks a two-game winning streak and their second 2-0 Northeast Conference (NEC) start in three years as they battle the Long Island Sharks. The Mount is coming off a 78-63 win versus Wagner last Thursday night (Jan. 2).
THE MATCHUP
Saturday's contest is the 59th meeting between Mount and Long Island, but the first since the merger of the LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post athletic teams. All previous contests were with LIU Brooklyn, known as the Blackbirds. The Mountaineers won the first 23 matchups in the all-time series - a run of success that lasted from 1990 to 2001. LIU Brooklyn earned their first win in the series on February 5, 2001 and since then have held a 24-11 advantage. Mount St. Mary's still leads the all-time series 34-24.
Long Island triumphed in the last meeting, 71-61, in Brooklyn. Michaela Harrison had a big game with 31 points, but the Mount was inhibited by injuries that left just eight players available.
MOUNTAINEER REPORT
The win against Wagner marked the first time that Mount took victory with three or fewer players registering double figures. Jatarrikah Settle tied a game-high with 15, followed with Harrison's 14 points and 11 from Kendall Bresee. Settle tied with Taylor Addison for eight rebounds each. It was the fourth contest this season where the Mountaineers shot better than 50 percent from the floor. The 51.9 percent effort joins achievements against Frostburg (55 percent), Radford (51.9 percent) and Loyola (52 percent). The Mount is 5-0 when shooting 40 percent or better this season, and are 4-0 when they out-rebound their competition.
Mount St. Mary's stands first in the NEC in field goal percentage (39.7) and defensive rebounds (22.8 per game), and ranks no worse than eighth in the conference in any statistical category.
SCOUTING THE SHARKS
Long Island is in rebuilding mode following a 4-25 (3-15 NEC) record last year, and are 1-10 to open the 2019-20 season. The Sharks earned their one win against Hofstra, but have had close calls versus Fairfield, Lafayette, Army and North Carolina Central - coming within seven points or less in each game.
Brandy Thomas is the Sharks' leading scorer and rebounder at 12.8 and 8.5, respectively. Jeydah Johnson and Kiara Bell also average double figures, and Bell is right behind Thomas at 7.3 rebounds per game. LIU is led by Rene Haynes, a former Michigan State Spartan in her first season at the helm in Brooklyn.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Mount heads to New England for a two-game road swing with Bryant (Jan. 11) and Merrimack (Jan. 13). They return home in two weeks with a matinee against Central Connecticut (Jan. 18).
