Farmingdale State - 65, Mount Saint Vincent - 56
Riverdale, N.Y. - Senior guards Kaelyn Ward (East Hampton, N.Y.) and Liz Durchhalter (Franklin Square, N.Y.) scored 23 and 21 points, respectively, to lead the Farmingdale State women's basketball team to a 65-56 Skyline Conference victory over The College of Mount Saint Vincent this evening.
Trailing 5-4 only 1:30 into the game, FSC (13-11, 12-5 Skyline) would go on 14-2 run over the next 4:42 to take an 11-point lead. After a layup and 3-pointer by freshman forward Aria Rheams (Alexandria, VA) cut the Dolphins (11-10, 9-8 Skyline) deficit to six, 18-12, an Alexis Antonacci (Plainview, N.Y.) layup put the Rams back up by eight.
Leading 25-17 in the second quarter, a pair of free-throws by Ward increased the FSC advantage to 10. Mount Saint Vincent would respond with eight straight points on a Kristen Merrell (Staten Island, N.Y.) layup and a pair of 3's by junior guard Kelly Oliver (Carmel, N.Y.) to close within just two points, 27-25.
The Rams took a 36-34 halftime lead and would open the third quarter on a 12-2 run to go ahead 48-36.
Down 54-42 heading into the fourth quarter, CMSV senior guard Kelly Nola (Staten Island, N.Y.) knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to nine. FSC would answer as Ward and Durchhalter would combine to score the game's next nine points to give Farmingdale State their largest lead of the game, 63-45, with 3:57 left to play.
Mount Saint Vincent outscored the Rams 11-2 down the stretch but it was not enough as FSC held on for the conference win, 65-56.
Ward shot 63% (10-of-16) from the field and tallied six rebounds and three steals, while Durchhalter pulled down a season-high seven rebounds. Senior forward Essence Casey (Huntington Station, N.Y.) produced seven points, eight rebounds and a game-high two blocks for the Rams.
Rheams totaled a team-high 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Merrell and Oliver produced 11 points each in the loss.
Farmingdale State next plays host to Merchant Marine on Saturday, February 17th at noon on Senior Day.
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