#2 MOUNT ST. MARY'S (19-11, 14-4 NEC) vs. #7 LONG ISLAND (8-21, 7-11 NEC)
Monday, March 9 | 7:00 p.m.
Emmitsburg, Md. | Knott Arena
NEC FRONT ROW | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES
EMMITSBURG, Md. (March 8, 2020) – After posting their best regular season finish since 2014, the No. 2 seeded Mount St. Mary's women's basketball team hosts No. 7 Long Island in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Quarterfinals.
THE MATCHUP
Mount swept the regular season over LIU with a pair of decisive victories. The Mountaineers won 75-57 in Emmitsburg back on January 4th and 77-57 in Brooklyn on February 10th.
Michaela Harrison was dominant in scoring for both games, scoring a combined 46 points. Jatarrikah Settle was dominant in rebounding with 23 boards. In the Brooklyn game, the team shot 50 percent, led by an 8-for-10 night from Rebecca Lee.
Long Island's Brandy Thomas matched Harrison's point total of 25 points in the first game, and led her team with 16 in the second matchup.
Both sides carry a two-game losing streak into the contest. Mount suffered defeats to Robert Morris and Fairleigh Dickinson after a nine-game win streak locked up the second spot. Long Island fell to Central Connecticut and in overtime to Sacred Heart, but had previously won three of four to punch their ticket.
MOUNTAINEER REPORT
The Mountaineers come into the NEC Tournament with a 19-11 record and a 14-4 mark against conference opponents. Harrison leads the team with 12.5 points per game, and Kendall Bresee leads in rebounding (6.6) and assists (3.6).
Mount was the No. 2 seed in 2014 after going 13-5 in the NEC that year. They advanced to the semifinals where they ousted by Saint Francis, ultimately advancing to the WNIT. The last time the team won 14 or more games in the conference's regular season was the 2000-01 season.
A tournament title would be the Mount's fourth in program history and the first since 1995, the culmination of three consecutive NEC triumphs.
SCOUTING THE SHARKS
Led by first-year coach Rene Haynes, Long Island makes a return to the NEC Tournament after a one-year hiatus. The newly re-branded Sharks improved four games in conference and overall victories from a year ago, posting a 7-11 record. In the three-way tie with Bryant and Wagner, the Sharks settled into the second spot for the No. 7 seed.
Thomas leads her team in scoring with 14.7 points per game, and Kiara Bell leads in rebounding with 8.3 while also averaging double figures in scoring.
LOOKING AHEAD
The winning team will advance to the NEC Semifinals Thursday (March 12). If Mount is the winner, they will host the game at Knott Arena.
