Mount Saint Vincent Defeats NYU-Poly in Skyline Quarterfinals

Riverdale, NY -  The NYU-Poly women's basketball team was in uncharted waters Tuesday night as they took on Mount Saint Vincent in the Skyline Conference Quarterfinals. And, based on the first seven minutes of the game, one would have thought it was the Mount that was the rookie team as NYU-Poly pulled out to an 11-point lead. But, experience prevailed as the Lady Dolphins regained the lead and held off a late NYU-Poly charge to advance to the Skyline Semi-finals with a 78-66 victory.

The Lady Jays jumped out to a 16-5 lead fueled by senior Consuelo Aranda (Calexico, Mexico) and sophomore Kristin Leitheuser (Millbrook, NY) who each chipped in five points during the run. But, the Dolphins reeled off a game-changing 28-6 run over the next eight minutes to take an 11 point lead of their own, 33-22. Aranda's three-pointer with two seconds left in the half sent the Lady Jays into the lockerroom down 43-34.

The Lady Jays cut the lead to four just moments into the second half as Leitheuser hit a three and sophomore Megan Bosi (New Milford, NJ) connected on a jumper. But, Mount Saint Vincent responded by building a 10 point lead at the half way point and extending it to as much as 16. NYU-Poly never got any closer than seven during the final eight minutes.

Leitheuser led NYU-Poly with 21 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Margaux Pickell (Howell, NJ) recorded her season-best 12th double-double as she scored 18 points and brought down a team-high 13 boards. Seniors Damei Mahama (Kearney, NJ) and Aranda finished with six and nine points, respectively, as they wore the "Polytech" jerseys for the last time.

Mount Saint Vincent was led by Lauren Percodani who hit a game-high 26 points. Courtney Heesemann recorded a double-double as she pumped in 20 points to go along with 15 rebounds.  The Dolphins, who have now won eight straight, advance to play at Mount Saint Mary College, which has won 10 in a row, on Thursday at 7:00pm.

NYU-Poly finishes the regualr season at a school best 12-13 overall mark. The Lady Jays 7-11 record in the Skyline is the best since joinging the conference in 2007-08.