EMMITSBURG, Md. (January 23, 2022) – Building a lead as high as 21 points, Mount St. Mary's needed every bit of it to fend off a comeback by Central Connecticut. After the Blue Devils eliminated 20 of those 21 points, Mount regrouped and rallied to a 71-60 win Sunday in New Britain.
 
The victory is the fourth straight for the Mount, who improve to 7-8 (5-3 NEC) on the year.
 
Four Mountaineers posted double figures, led by Kendall Bresee with 17. Bresee added six rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block. Michaela Harrison tallied 15 in a 6-for-9 shooting performance, followed by Kayla Agentowicz with 12 (4-for-5 shooting) and Isabella Hunt with 10 (4-for-8). Agentowicz also set a new season high in steals with four.
 
Hunt's fast break layup secured the Mount a 3-2 lead with 8:45 left in the first quarter, and the remainder of the half appeared to show a runaway for the visitors. Benefiting off 16 turnovers, Mount St. Mary's registered 17 points, most of which came in the paint. Seven players in a blue uniform added to the scoreboard, and Jessica Tomasetti hit a breakaway lineup with 1:48 left in the second period to give the Mount a 31-10 advantage.
 
But as the half drew to a close, CCSU asserted their belief that the game was not over. The Blue Devils hit a layup, then took advantage of two turnovers that resulted in points. Meghan Kenefick's three as time expired brought the score to 33-19 at the break.
 
Period three belonged to Central Connecticut. Jumping out of the locker room, the home side strung together an 8-0 run to force a Mountaineers timeout. A 31-10 lead had trimmed to 33-27. Bresee balanced out play for a time, keeping an eight point edge, but CCSU continued to work. Dejah Jenkins logged a triple with 3:38 to go, putting the contest within a single possession. Ashley Berube followed with one of her own in the final seconds for a 43-42 score. It looked as though that would be the score entering the fourth, but the Mount caught a break with two Bresee foul shots to extend the lead. In a reversal, Mount St. Mary's relied on Bresee alone as the graduate student scored all 12 points during the frame.
 
Jada Lee helped set the tone for the Mountaineers in the fourth, drawing a shooting foul and converting two at the line. The sophomore then nailed a trey for a nine point lead. CCSU made another small run, twice trimming the deficit to four points. But Harrison responded with a pair of three-pointers, the second of which gave the Mount a 65-57 margin with 3:08 left. The Blue Devils would never again come as close to pulling the improbable comeback.
 
For CCSU, leading scorer Ashley Berube went 7-for-9 from the floor to match Bresee's 17 points. The duo came in as the top scorers in the Northeast Conference.  Berube added seven rebounds as the Blue Devils fell to 3-12 (2-5 NEC).
 
Mount St. Mary's returns home to face conference front runner Fairleigh Dickinson Thursday at 5 p.m. The game airs nationwide on ESPNU.