NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (February 25, 2021) – Mount St. Mary's was given a scare Thursday afternoon, as a cold shooting spell and timely foul shots allowed the Merrimack Warriors to come within a hair's breadth of an upset win. A key defensive stop preserved a 59-58 victory for the Mountaineers.

The Mount – which led by as many as 17 at one point – needed every point out of senior Rebecca Lee. Dominating in the post, the forward went 10-for-11 shooting for a season best 20 points. Kendall Bresee and Michaela Harrison also reached double figures with 11
each.

For Harrison, the seventh point – coming in a three-pointer with 9:32 left in the third quarter – marked the 1,000^th point in her Mount career. She is the 28^th Mountaineer in program history to cross the milestone and the 10^th to achieve the feat in three years.

Early on, it appeared that the Mount would pull away again in pursuit of their seventh straight win. They shot 61 percent from the floor, but turned the ball over eight times, allowing the Warriors to stay close. The visitors led by eight after one quarter.

A 9-0 run by the Mount, capped off by a layup from Lee, pushed the lead to its highest of the day at 29-12. Merrimack countered with a run to pull within nine, and a pair of freebies by Isabella Hunt gave the Mount a 38-27 halftime advantage.

Mount kept the lead at double digits for almost the entire third quarter. Trailing by 12 and needing a comeback, Merrimack turned to Mayson Kimball, who cashed in a turnover with a layup and added two free throws, cutting the deficit to where it was at the end of the first quarter.

The momentum continued to swing in favor of the Warriors as the Mount's offense fell silent for the opening minutes of the fourth. With 6:15 remaining, Kate Mager buried a three to tie the score and wipe out the Mount's advantage. Rebecca Lee responded with a layup to pull ahead, and the game see-sawed between a two point Mount lead and a tie the rest of the way.

Tenisia Brown drew two shots at the line for Merrimack with 1:18 left, converting both to draw the game level at 57. Lee's biggest bucket came on the next possession, scoring with 54 seconds left. Kimball then drew a foul on Bresee, which disqualified her from the game. However she could convert on just one of the two attempts.

Up 59-58 the Mount looked for an opportunity to score, but missed on two chances. Merrimack pulled down the board with six seconds left and set up a play with a timeout. The Warriors attempted to go inside and score in the paint, but a key double team from the Mount forced a wild shot that fell off the front of the rim.

Mount St. Mary's improves to 13-4 and 12-2 in the NEC this season. Merrimack drops to 3-10.

The Mount comes back to Emmitsburg for one final home game against the Saint Francis Red Flash. The battle for first place in the NEC begins Sunday at 2 p.m., televised on ESPN3 and NEC Front Row.