NEWBURGH, NY --- (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) SUNY Old Westbury women's basketball trailed early as the Mount Saint Mary College Knights (7-5, 5-1 Skyline) closed out strong Wednesday evening to earn a 62-51 Skyline Conference win from Kaplan Center in Newburgh, New York. The loss moved Old Westbury to 9-1 on the season and 4-1 in conference play.
Old Westbury got off to a slow start and misfired on seven attempts from the field before Charlotte Renker's layup 3:37 in sliced the Panthers' deficit in half (4-2). Trailing by as many as nine (17-8) in the opening half, Old Westbury used an 8-0 run keyed by a pair of Alexis Lopez 3-pointers to pull within one (17-16) with 6:15 remaining. Mount Saint Mary closed out the final 4:38 with a 9-3 run to take a 26-19 advantage into intermission.
Playing from behind for the opening 23:42, Old Westbury took its first lead 3:42 into second-half play as Destiny Marino's free throw put the Panthers ahead 27-26. Moments later, Tori Bellings sank a pair of free throws to give Old Westbury its largest lead of the game (31-28) with 4:25 left in the third period. Renker also put Old Westbury ahead by three (36-33) 1:49 later with two free throws before Elizabeth Limonta's layup pushed Mount Saint Mary in front (37-36) for good with 2:05 showing on the third-quarter clock. With the game knotted at 45-all, Mount Saint Mary closed out the final 5:14 with a 17-6 run to earn the home win.
Tyra Bellings led Old Westbury with 12 points (4-of-11 3FG), four assists and one steal off the bench. Lopez followed with nine points (3-of-8 3FG) while Renker totaled 10 rebounds and two blocks. Tori Bellings added seven points, five assists (game high) and three steals. Marino and Monique Joseph both nabbed two steals. Bridgid McNeill added seven rebounds and two blocks.
Katie Smith poured in a game-high 15 points to pace the Knights to victory. Jessica Rini registered 12 points, 13 rebounds and three steals while Kayla Cleare scored 10. Maite Gritsko totaled a game-high four steals.
In the end, Old Westbury connected on 29.8 percent (17-of-57) from the field, 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from 3-point range and 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from the free-throw line. By comparison, Mount Saint Mary hit on 34.7 percent (17-of-49) from the floor, 30 percent (3-of-10) from beyond the arc and 62.5 percent (25-of-40) from the charity stripe. Despite winning the boards battle, 42-40, Old Westbury struggled by scoring just three second-chance points off 16 offensive rebounds. The Panthers held the advantage in assists (14-11), blocks (5-3) and bench points (27-13). Mount Saint Mary outplayed Old Westbury in steals (18-10), points in the paint (18-12), second-chance points (13-3) and points off turnovers (20-17).
ST. JOSEPH'S COLLEGE (L.I.) GOLDEN EAGLES UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury opens a four-game homestand Saturday (Jan. 6) versus the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) Golden Eagles (4-6, 1-3 Skyline) at 12 p.m. inside Clark Athletic Center.
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