BENNINGTON, Vt. – Late free throw conversions in the clutch by the Southern Vermont College women's basketball team helped the Mountaineers to a 57-54 win over SUNY at Morrisville Friday night in non-conference action at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.
In the first ever meeting between the two programs, SVC sophomore captain Amber Flagg (Windsor, Conn.) went to the line with seven seconds left on the clock and her team up by just three, hitting both to put the game a touch too far out of reach for the Mustangs.
Flagg notched 21 points in the win while sophomore forward Sarah McDonald (Cohoes, N.Y.) had a monstrous game down low for the Mountaineers, recording career and game-highs of 25 points and 16 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Queen Holquin (Bronx, N.Y.) led Morrisville with 12 points coming off the bench, adding six rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Neither side found its rhythm early on as back-to-back McDonald jumpers made it 8-5 in favor of SVC with 12:32 left to go in the first. Play would open up, however, as both teams started to find their offensive momentum and hit shots late in the opening stanza.
A basket by Mountaineer freshman Amber Dow (Panton, Vt.) gave the hosts their biggest lead of the half (20-13), and Morrisville would barely cut that down as the game went into the break with Southern Vermont up 24-18. McDonald just missed a first half double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing eight boards.
The Mountaineers never trailed the rest of the way, but Morrisville would threaten as a 6-0 run about five minutes into the second tied the game at 26-26. Flagg would then go hard to the hoop, making a layup while being fouled and finishing the three-point play to give Southern Vermont the lead back. That started a 14-6 Mountaineer run capped by another McDonald layup that gave SVC a cushion for a few minutes.
The Mustangs refused to go away as the two battled back-and-forth with Morrisville eventually trimming the lead to just three (46-43) with 5:48 to go after a free throw by sophomore forward Caitlyn Adams (Sherburne, N.Y.). A pair from the charity stripe by Holquin made it 50-49 as 4:34 stood on the clock, but consecutive layups by freshman Abbi Molner (Wilmington, Vt.) and McDonald allowed the Mountaineers breathing room once again.
A scoreless two minutes brought the game down to the wire as a jumper by Mustang freshman Maura Conlon (Marcy, N.Y.) made it a one-possession game (54-51). But the foul strategy would not pay off when Flagg received the inbound pass and subsequently went to the line, hitting both ends of the one-and-one to put Southern Vermont up 56-51 with under ten ticks to play. Morrisville then ran the court, and freshman Danielle Ooms (Valatie, N.Y.) went down to the left corner and drained a three as time wore down. After an officials' conference, 1.6 seconds were put back on the clock. SVC was able to get the ball in, and Molner was fouled to go to the line. She would hit just the first, but there was not enough time for the Mustangs to get possession and try for a good look as the buzzer rang and the Mountaineers took the 57-54 win.
Southern Vermont was able to limit its turnovers during the game, giving the ball away just 18 times while scoring 14 points off the Mustang's 17 giveaways. The Mountaineers shot a season-best 40.4 percent from the floor while Morrisville hit just 31.8 percent of its field goals. McDonald led to SVC's dominance in the paint as the victors outscored the visitors 28-16 in the key.
Molner finished with six boards for Southern Vermont while Flagg added four rebounds, four assists and two steals to her night. Sophomore Mariah Anthony (Northfield, Mass.) had four points, five rebounds and three assists in the win.
Holquin was followed in points on the Morrisville side by Adams who finished with eight while also notching a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman guard Jordan Anderson (West Edmeston, N.Y.) helped facilitate the Mustang offense with five assists to go along with four points.
The Mountaineers (2-7) are off until after the winter break when they return with a Jan. 4 visit to Mass. College of Liberal Arts for a 1 p.m. tip. The Mustangs (2-6) resume the season on Tuesday, Jan. 7 when they travel to Bard College for a 6 p.m. non-league contest.