The SUNY College at Old Westbury women’s basketball team was unable to hold on to its first-half lead Saturday afternoon as the visiting Mount Saint Mary Knights claimed a 69-66 Skyline Conference victory from Clark Athletic Center. Old Westbury (8-10) now stands at 2-4 in conference play with the loss while Mount Saint Mary (7-9) evened its league record to 2-2.
Both team traded leads the entire game, combining for eight lead changes at the end of 40 minutes. Old Westbury led by four points (10-6) early on before Mount Saint Mary used a 9-4 run from 10:19 to 4:59 to take a 24-16 advantage, its largest lead of the game. Old Westbury answered with an 11-2 run to close out the half for a 28-26 lead at intermission.
Old Westbury scored seven unanswered points in the early goings of the second half to grab a 35-28 lead. Jasmine Robinson landed a three pointer at 16:32 to spark a 15-8 run to give Old Westbury an 11-point cushion (52-41) with 13:53 showing on the second-half clock. Mount Saint Mary clawed back into the game with a 10-0 run to cut its deficit to one point (52-51) with 12:50 remaining. Crystal Barnes then scored four-straight points to put the Panthers back up by five (56-51) at the 10:23 mark.
Down the stretch, Barnes connected on a jumper with 2:53 left to put Old Westbury ahead by four points (66-62). Old Westbury would then misfire on its final seven shots as the Knights closed out the final 2:15 on a 7-0 run to escape with the road win.
Robinson connected on a career-best three triples to finish with 15 points and four steals off the bench for Old Westbury. Barnes followed with 14 points and 13 rebounds (eight offensive) in addition to nabbing two steals to record her team-leading eighth double-double of the season. Raven Pentz contributed 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Chloe Mellon racked up seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Clarissa Gallagher chipped in with eight points and four steals.
Natalie Candarelli’s 20 points (8-9) paced the Knights to victory. Candarelli added nine rebounds and Nicole Scicutella ripped down 11 boards. Lauren Romano scored 12 points while Jessica Rini and Marisa Delzio each scored 11.
Courtesy of Old Westbury Sports Information
