Mount Saint Mary - 63, Farmingdale State - 61
Newburgh, N.Y. - In a Skyline Conference game this afternoon in Newburgh, N.Y., the Farmingdale State women's basketball team fell to Mount Saint Mary, 63-61, despite outscoring the Knights 33-16 in the fourth quarter. The Rams dropped to 6-15 overall and 6-8 in conference play, while MSMC improved 18-4, 15-0.
Mount Saint Mary led 11-8 after a low-scoring first quarter and opened the second with a 6-0 run to go up by nine. Farmingdale State quickly responded with a 13-1 run, including seven points from sophomore guard Destiny Hurt (Long Beach, N.Y.), to take a three-point edge, 21-18.
Over the final 2:52 of the half, the Knights used a 10-0 run to go in front, 28-21.
MSMC extended their lead to 18, 39-21, after opening the third quarter with a layup from senior guard Maite Gritsko (Milford, Conn.) and three straight 3's by freshman forward Lauren Desrats (Warwick, N.Y.).
After a pair of Hurt free-throws cut the deficit to 16, another 3 from Desrats put the Knights ahead 42-23 with 6:28 remaining in the quarter.
The Rams trailed 47-28 at the start of the fourth and used a 9-0 run, which featured a pair of 3's from senior guard Selena LaFranca (Smithtown, N.Y.), to close within 10, 47-37.
With FSC down 57-45 with four minutes left, Hurt hit a layup before LaFranca registered two free-throws to cut the deficit to eight. After a 5-0 run by MSMC, Farmingdale State junior guard Nia Miller (Brooklyn, N.Y.) recorded five straight points before sophomore guard Jami Cardenas (Bay Shore, N.Y.) knocked down a 3 and Hurt tallied a layup to close within just three, 62-59, with 1:01 on the clock.
Despite struggling from the free-throw line down the stretch, Mount Saint Mary would hold on for the conference victory, 63-61.
Hurt finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists, while Miller registered 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds. LaFranca tallied 15 points and sophomore forward Alexis Hunter (Brooklyn, N.Y.) ended with seven points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
The Knights were led by Desrats, who recorded a game-high 19 points.
FSC next hosts conference foe St. Joseph's-Long Island on Wednesday, February 6th at 5:30 p.m.
*****