Box Score FAIRFIELD, CT. (February 3rd, 2020) – The Mount St. Mary's women's basketball (12-9, 7-2 NEC) took down Sacred Heart (8-13, 5-5 NEC) 67-58 on Monday night for their 7th Northeast Conference win. Rebecca Lee led the Mount with a 16-point and 10-rebound performance while Michaela Harrison (14 points) and Kendall Bresee (11 points) each finished in double figures.
The Mountaineers' stifling defense out of the gates had Sacred Heart flustered in the first quarter. Five steals and three shot clock violations in the first ten minutes of play had the Mount in front 22-6 after one frame. The strong first period was capped off with a steal by Bresee which led to a Taylor Addison buzzer beating layup on the other end.
After falling behind 38-21 midway through the second frame, Sacred Heart picked up their play on both ends of the court. A 10-0 Pioneer run to end the second quarter had the Mount only up 38-31 at the half. The Mountaineers 22-10 advantage in points in the paint and 13-7 in points off turnovers gave them a cushion at the break.
Out of the half, both defenses stifled the counterpart's offense as each team only scored three points five minutes into the period. Back-to-back layups from Addison and a three-ball from Aryna Taylor kept the Pioneers from getting close. After an even 12-12 third quarter, the Mountaineers started the fourth with a 50-43 lead.
The fourth quarter was the Rebecca Lee show as eight of the Mountaineers' 17-fourth quarter points came from her. The Pioneers were able to get as close as five during the fourth quarter, but never closer. A big three from Kayla Agentowicz ended a 6-0 Sacred Heart run to keep the Mount up 57-49 with seven minutes to play. Lee would eventually put the Pioneers away with back-to-back strong layups and then a steal that led to an easy fastbreak layup for Harrison. The Mountaineers would prevail 67-58 in a game which they led for 37:36 of 40:00 minutes.
Jayla Davis (18 points), Sonia Smith (12 points), and Nikki Johnson (12 points) all finished in double figures for the Pioneers who have now dropped their first two conference games in the month of February. This was the first time since February 11th of 2017 that the Mountaineers have defeated the Pioneers. Five scorers with 8+ points and Lee's double-double (16 pts, 10 rbs) were the keys to a victory tonight for the Mount.
Mount St. Mary's women's basketball will next head to Brooklyn looking to complete a sweep of their four-game road trip at St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday, February 8th and at Long Island University on Monday, February 10th.
