LORETTO, Pa. (Feb. 29, 2020) - Mount St. Mary's women's basketball used a 21-0 run to open Saturday's contest with the Saint Francis U Red Flash, and then used just enough defense to win their ninth in a row, 66-55, at DeGol Arena. 

The Mountaineers are now on their longest win streak in 21 years. The 1998-99 squad won 11 in a row. 

Michaela Harrison was the leading scorer for the Mount (19-9, 14-2 NEC) with 16 points, and Kendall Bresee missed a double-double by one rebound with 15 points and nine boards. Bridget Birkhead also reached double figures with 12. The entire team was efficient from the floor, hitting 55.6 percent of their shots (25-for-45), marking their highest percentage of the year.  

On defense the Mount held the home side to 35.1 percent shooting, forcing 18 turnovers with eight steals. Maqui Carrillo Ade was key in setting a tone, setting new career highs in rebounds (5) and steals (2), while matching a career-high for assists (2). 

The Red Flash (11-17, 9-8 NEC) were led by Haley Thomas with 18 points and nine rebounds. 

For the second straight game, Mount opened the game with a huge run. The Mountaineers scored the first 21 points of the game, led by Kayla Agentowicz with six points. Six different players contributed to the effort, as the squad shot 78.6 percent (11-for-14) from the floor. On the defensive side, they locked down for eight plus minutes of shutout basketball. Saint Francis U finally scored their first points at the foul line with 1:10 remaining. Combined with the first meeting on February 15th, the Mountaineers outscored the Red Flash 45-8 in first quarters this season. 

Mount kept the balance in their favor for the second quarter. Shooting came back down to a still respectable 43 percent. The defense continued to stay strong, holding the opposition to under 25 percent scoring. At the break, Mount led 38-18, with three players - Agentowicz, Bresee and Birkhead - tied for the team lead in scoring with eight. 

Eighty seconds into the third quarter, the Mountaineers matched their largest lead at 22 points with a 40-18 advantage. But Saint Francis began to slowly chip into the lead from there. A pair of clutch three pointers from Harrison drove the lead back up to 54-37 to set up the final 10 minutes. 

Saint Francis U made their move two minutes into the final frame. The ladies of Loretto brought their fans back to life with an 8-0 run over three minutes of gametime. For the first time since the opening tip, the Mountaineers' lead was threatened. The Red Flash closed the gap to 10, then slowly continued to put on pressure. Karson Swogger hit a pair of clutch triples, and Jada Dapaa drew contact and made her shots at the line to pull within six. 

Despite being held to no field goals for the last 8:13, the Mount stayed on top, thanks to free throws. The visitors went 9-for-12 from the charity stripe to seal the game, bolstered by key defense and a five second turnover call under two minutes. 

Mount comes home to face Robert Morris on Monday evening (Mar. 2). Tip-off is 7 p.m. from Knott Arena. A victory for the Mountaineers would force a tie for first place in the Northeast Conference.