Buffalo, N.Y. (March 2, 2023) – Mount St. Mary's won this game in the fourth quarter through a suffocating defensive effort, allowing only five points. The Mountaineers forced the Griffins to go 16-54 from the field while only four of 24 to drop from outside the arc. Isabella Hunt's presence down low shook up the Griffins. Hunt ended with 12 rebounds, four steals, and six points.
 
Michaela Harrison earned the first bucket of the game on second chance points after Hunt out-rebounded Sisi Eleko. Carissa Dunham wasted no time after hitting a three to continue the Mount's 7-2 run halfway through the first made possible by another offensive board from Hunt. Hunt's three rebounds on the offensive glass helped keep intensity for the Mountaineers, 12-11 at the end of the first.
 
Foul trouble early in the second found the Mountaineers in a hole 23-15. Natalie Villaflor and Harrison edged the team back into striking distance through tough offense and smart defense. 22 turnovers kept both teams from scoring, both ended the half with 11. Defensively, the Mount is playing sound, forcing the Golden Griffins 4-17 from three and just 9-28 from the field while also winning the steal ratio 6:3. That said, struggles on offense continue for the Mount going 1-7 from three and 9-24 from the field, 29-23 halftime.
 
Harrison started the third the same way she began the game, scoring the first bucket of the half, this time coming off a shifty reverse layup. Harrison's steal and outlet pass to Villaflor brought the Mount within two points, 33-31 at the five-minute mark. Aryna Taylor went on a tear late in the third driving to the glass and drawing consecutive fouls, draining a turnaround jumper, and finishing an acrobatic layup to score five in a row for the Mount. Great defense turned into smooth offense as a half court heave from Taylor gave Jessica Tomasetti the lane for an open floater at the buzzer, 39-38.
 
The fourth quarter started with a lot of back and forth between the Griffins and the Mountaineers. Carissa Dunham sunk a three assisted by Tomasetti to give the Mount a two-point lead at the 5:00 minute mark in the fourth. Tomasetti grabbed her own rebound late in the fourth and dished it out to Taylor for her first three of the game, 48-43. Good ball control, clutch shots, and swarming defense put the Mountaineers in the driver's seat for the rest of the game.