KEENE, N.H. – With a 57-56 lead with 7:08 remaining in the second half, the Mount Ida women's basketball team saw the Fighting Tigers of SUNY Cobleskill go on a 13-0 run to take a 69-56 lead and never look back.
Even though the Mustangs kept it close down the stretch, SUNY Cobleskill came away with their first win of the 2015-16 season by a final score of 73-69. With the win, SUNY improves to 1-1 on the year while Mount Ida will return home with a 0-2 record.
The consolation game between the Mustangs and Fighting Tigers saw the likes of Brittany Crosby (Riverside, R.I.) notch a Mustang high 13 rebounds while also padding 15 points to go along with her being named to the All–Tournament team. Katlyn Jesse (Marshfield, Mass.) recorded a team high 20 points to go along with five rebounds while Angie Martinez (Taunton, Mass.) grabbed six rebounds to add to her 11 points in the contest.
SUNY opened the non-conference tilt by starting the game on a 10-0 run in which Crosby stopped the run at the 7:13 mark of the opening quarter to cut into the lead at 10-2. Mount Ida used an 8-0 run of their own to get right back into the game which was led by a layup from Jessica D'Esposito (Malden, Mass.) followed by another layup from Imani Bumpus (West Hartford, Conn.) and a jumper from Crosby, making the lead 12-8 in favor of the Tigers.
Breanna Muir (Wareham, Mass.) made one of two free throws after a steal and a pass from Bumpus at the 3:46 mark, before Shelby Preston (Ravena, N.Y.) turned down the court and raced to a layup to give SUNY the 16-9 edge.
Neither team had a lead bigger than five at any point in the second quarter, in which there were seven lead changes in the entire game. A back and forth affair in the second quarter saw the both teams racing up and down the floor which led to a Crosby layup with 0:07 left in the opening half to tie the game at 33 apiece going into the break.
The second half, much like the first, started with both teams once again exchanging buckets up and down the court. Jesse notched seven of her team high 20 points in the third quarter while Crosby recorded eight point points in the quarter. With 0:05 reading on the clock, Morgan Bullis (Bainbridge, N.Y.) gave the Tigers the 54-53 lead at the end of three.
With 8:53 remaining in regulation, Martinez made a layup to give the Mustangs a one point lead at 55-54 before Preston once again gave her team the lead back, 56-55. Jesse and Preston exchanged back and forth baskets before junior guard Keri Seeger (Clifton Park, N.Y.) gave Cobleskill the three point cushion at 60-57.
Preston led the rest of the way for SUNY as she would lead the Tigers down the stretch run in which she scored a game high 30 points en route to the 73-69, hard fought victory for the Fighting Tigers.
Crosby led all players with 13 rebounds, while Muir collected a game high eight assists to go along with her eight points and teammate went a perfect six for six at the charity stripe for six points in the loss for Mount Ida. Marysa Dwyer (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in with five points on 2 of 3 shooting while going 1 for 2 from the line.
The Mustangs will be back in action on Tuesday, November 17th when they head to Gordon College for a 5:30 PM tip off in Wenham, Massachusetts.