Box Score
EMMITSBURG, Md. (Feb. 15, 2020) - Mount St. Mary's women's basketball stormed out of the gate Saturday versus Saint Francis U and pulled off a 68-44 statement victory at Knott Arena. The triumph is their fifth straight, guarantees a winning record for Northeast Conference (NEC) play and helps to solidify their second place position in the conference standings.
"We're really proud of our defensive effort." Mount Head Coach Maria Marchesano said. "Especially in that first quarter. We really locked into the scout, we communicated, were proactive instead of reactive, and we had a lot of energy. Anytime we have energy, we can make things happen."
Aryna Taylor provided the spark with a career-high 18 points, all coming on three pointers in the first half
. Rebecca Lee also reached double figures with 10 points.
"My teammates were able to find me, and I was hot." Taylor said. "Every shot I put up I had a feeling it was going in."
As a team, Mount (15-9, 10-2 NEC) shot 48.1 percent from long range and 40.3 percent from the floor overall
. They also exceeded the Red Flash's rebound total 37-32, achieving the feat for the third time in four. Lee led all players in rebounds with seven. The Mount also came within one assist of their season high with 19, with
Kendall Bresee contributing six dimes
.
Saint Francis U (11-14, 9-3 NEC) was inhibited by
25 turnovers, with Mount forcing 14 steals. Jatarrikah Settle accounted for half of the robberies, which will serve as a career high.
Mount opened the contest with their most dominant start of the season, sealing the game early with a 22-3 first quarter
. That marks the fewest points the Mount has conceded in a 10 minute session since November 18, 2015, when the Mountaineers gave up two points to Delaware State
. After the Red Flash hit a trey on their second shot of the game, the visitors were held
scoreless. The Mountaineers capitalized with an 20-0 run, hitting 6-of-10 from downtown. Taylor led the charge with a trio of triples, with Michaela Harrison adding a pair.
The Red Flash came to life in the second quarter, carving their deficit down to nine points at 23-14 over the first four minutes. Once again, it was Taylor who drove the lead back up, compiling her second trio of three-pointers in the course of 90 seconds. The third make restored the 19 point advantage at the end of the first quarter. SFU trimmed it back to 14 at halftime.
Two early buckets by Saint Francis provided a minimal scare, but the Mount's lead never fell into single digits for the rest of the contest. The Mountaineers took total control with an 11-1 run as the Red Flash managed just eight points for the quarter.
The Mountaineers travel to Wagner for a 1 p.m. Monday (Feb. 17) matinee.
