BROOKLYN, N.Y. – It wasn’t their finest effort of the season, but the result was still a victory for Mount Saint Mary College as they defeated the Polytechnic Institute of NYU, 60-42, on Thursday evening. The Blue Knights improved to 11-3 overall and stayed perfect in the Skyline at 8-0. NYU-Poly fell to 5-6 overall (3-4 Skyline).
After a sloppy start (five turnovers in the first five minutes), Mount Saint Mary trailed by as many as five in the first half. Trailing 18-13 with 3:47 to play, the Blue Knights closed the opening stanza with a 9-1 run and led 22-19 at the break.
In the second half, sophomore
Amanda Horvers (Kingston, N.Y.) jump started a 10-0 streak for the Mount with a jumper and a three-pointer. Freshman
Kate Hartnett (Floral Park, N.Y.) completed a three-point play at the 12:27 mark to push the lead to double digits for the first time (36-24).
NYU-Poly would close to within six as sophomore Kristen Leitheuser (Millbrook, N.Y.) knocked down a triple at the 8:15 mark, but it was Horvers who answered quickly with a three at the other end. A bucket by senior
Shannon Sangster (Syracuse, N.Y.) pushed the advantage pack to double digits and the Blue Jays never threatened again.
Hartnett, who continues to play well off the bench for the Mount, finished with a game-high 12 points. She was 4-of-8 from the field and grabbed 8 rebounds. Junior
Jess Tice (Altamont, N.Y.) completed a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards, while Horvers chipped in with 10.
Leitheuser led all scorers with 16 points and fell just short of a double-double with 9 rebounds. No other player reached double figures for NYU-Poly, who shot 29.4-percent from the field as a team.
Mount Saint Mary shot 41.1-percent as a team and committed 20 turnovers. The Blue Knights did enjoy a 40-27 advantage on the glass.
Up next for the Mount is a Skyline Conference showdown with Farmingdale State College on January 16. Both teams enter Saturday’s contest with perfect records in conference play, but it is the Rams who will put their flawless 12-0 overall record on the line as well. The tip is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Farmingdale.