RIVERDALE, N.Y. – In the first stop of their two game-tour of New York City, Mount Ida College women's basketball team suffered a 71-36 setback to the Dolphins of the College of Mount Saint Vincent.
In the first ever meeting between the two programs, the Mustangs got a game-high 15 rebounds from sophomore Angelique Martinez (Taunton, Mass.), but dropped to 3-7 on the season, while the Dolphins improved to 7-2 behind a balanced scoring attack that featured ten players getting on the score-sheet.
Brittany Crosby (Riverside, R.I.) was the high-scorer for the Mustangs with 10 points and freshman Imani Bumpus (W. Hartford, Conn.) added nine points, eight rebounds and two assists.
Senior Kelly Fraser (Staten Island, N.Y.) recorded a double-double with 13 rebounds and ten points for Mount Saint Vincent, who out-rebounded the Mustangs 62-43 in a game in which neither team managed to shoot more than 35% from the field or better than 65% from the free-throw line.
The hosts got off to an early advantage and did not ever trail. With the game tied at two, they ripped off a 14-2 run that gave them a double-digit lead, and despite layups by Stephanie Champoux (Tewksbury, Mass.), who had eight points in the game, and Crosby, did not allow the Mustangs back into the game.
The lead built to double-digits again for good thanks to a run of play by sophomore Christina Barone (Staten Island, N.Y.), which included two steals, four free throws and two field goals. Barone was the game's high scorer with 13 points, and also dished out two assists and a game-high six steals, and by halftime the Dolphins had a 42-17 lead.
Bumpus collected all nine of her points after the break, while Mount Saint Vincent got six points and eight rebounds in the game and three second-half blocks from junior Alexandra Gundermann (Tuxedo, N.Y.), as well as 11 points and a pair of assists from her classmate Theresa Carey (Hampton Bays, N.Y.).
Sophomore Molly Alkinburg (Port Deposit, Md.) had three blocks in the loss for Mount Ida, while Martinez swatted two Dolphins shots.
The Mustangs will celebrate New Year's Eve with a matinee game in Newburgh, N.Y. at Mount Saint Mary College. Tip-off is set for 12:00 pm on the 31st.
The Dolphins don't play again until 2015, when they host Berkeley College of NY at 1:00 pm on January 3rd.