EMMITSBURG, Md. (March 9, 2020) - Mount St. Mary's women's basketball came out firing on all cylinders in the final 20 minutes of the Northeast Conference (NEC) Quarterfinal against Long Island - transforming a 25-25 halftime deadlock into an 80-47 victory Monday evening at Knott Arena. The Mountaineers scored a season-best 55 points for the half to close out the contest. 

No. 2 seeded Mount (20-11) advances to the NEC Semifinal Thursday (March 12) at 7 p.m., when they will host No. 3 seed Fairleigh Dickinson. Long Island finishes their season at 8-22. 

"The first half was definitely not optimal." Mount Head Coach Maria Marchesano said. "We did not take care of business on the boards, box out or capitalize on our turnovers. But couldn't be more proud of the second half. They really responded, got downhill, quit settling for three's and got easy looks." 

Before the second half blitz, the Mountaineers' chances were in jeopardy, and LIU's upset opportunity looked promising. Mount went 7-for-32 from the floor, 2-for-14 from downtown and were held to one free throw make in the final seven minutes of the first half. The home side managed to lead by as much as eight at the 23-15 mark. But then the drought commenced and Long Island rallied to tie entering the break. 

The opening moments of the third quarter also looked bleak as the Sharks' Ryan Wiese hit a three-pointer seconds in, giving the visitors their first lead since the midway point of the first quarter. 

Michaela Harrison instantly changed the tone with a driving layup. Kendall Bresee followed with a layup of her own to retake the lead. The pair of buckets kicked off an 10-0 run which swung the three point deficit into a seven point lead. Long Island cut it down to four, but then the Mount turned on the jets. Book ended by triples from Bridget Birkhead, the Mountaineers stormed ahead with a 15-0 run while holding the Sharks scoreless for more than four minutes. Mount out scored Long Island 30-8 in the third quarter to lead by 22 with 10 minutes left. That mark is the team's second-highest total for a quarter this season, behind the 33 they scored in the fourth quarter against Maryland Eastern Shore back on December 14th. 

"The first half wasn't us." Harrison said. "I thought a lot about my shot, and they got into the press which allowed them to score. In the second half, we started talking a lot and it was more about defense so we could get easy shots." 

Mount St. Mary's rode the momentum into the fourth quarter, scoring 25 to Long Island's 14. Rebecca Lee broke through the fatigued defenders to score nine of her 13 points on the night. The advantage clipped 30 points with a Lee layup with 6:32 left and rose as high as 36 when Aryna Taylor buried a three to push the Mount's total to 80 points. This game is the third time the Mount has put up 80 or more on the scoreboard this season - after a 94-40 win over Frostburg on November 11th and an 81-75 win against Loyola on December 6th. 

Six players scored 10 or more for the Mount in the victory, led by Birkhead with 17. Harrison earned 14 points, with Bresee and Taylor adding 11. Kayla Agentowicz rounded out the double digit scorers with 10 points. Mount also had six athletes in double digits when they defeated Radford 75-58 back on November 26th. 

The Sharks were forced into 27 turnovers, 15 of which were counted as steals for the Mountaineers. Harrison tabulated a career-high of six steals as did Bresee, who had five. Lee added two blocks, becoming the second player in Mount history to record 100 blocks for a career, after Vanessa Blair. Three players - Bresee, Taylor and Maqui Carrillo Ade - tied career highs for assists. Mount earned 20 assists to Long Island's seven. 

"I really get in my head and try to find the best move for me and my team and how to create." Bresee said. "I stop, get downhill and try to make the extra pass. Today that was to Beccs [Rebecca Lee]. I think we came out with some jitters, but got into the locker room and we knew this wasn't the end. We played our hearts out and everyone played their role." 

LIU did frustrate the Mountaineers on the glass with 47 rebounds, including 23 on the offensive end. That is the most Mount has given up to an opponent all year. Brandy Thomas led the Sharks with a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds, while Kiara Bell registered a team-high 11 points. 

With the win, Mount St. Mary's has their first 20-win season since the 1999-2000 campaign. 

The winner between Mount and FDU will face the winner of No. 1 Robert Morris/No. 5 Sacred Heart in the NEC Championship Sunday, March 15th.