NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Result
Saturday, February 23, 2008
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Christina Baxter |
Baxter Reaches 1,000 Career Points, But Mavericks Fall 79-59 to STAC
SPARKILL, NY – Junior guard
Christina Baxter (Greenwood Lake, NY) scored a
team-high 19 points and reached the 1,000 points scored mark for
her collegiate career, but the Mavericks lost to St. Thomas Aquinas
College on Saturday afternoon by a score of 79-59. Mercy’s
record falls to 6-19 overall and 6-12 in East Coast Conference
(ECC) play.
Freshman forward Delmara Reece (Yonkers, NY)
recorded her thirteenth double-double of the season by scoring 15
points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Freshman forward Ashley
Finnegan (Worcester, MA) chipped in with 10 points and
nine rebounds.
The Spartans (9-16, 8-10 ECC) got off to a quick start as they
went on a 13-6 run in the first 8:47 of the game. However, the
Mavericks stormed back and took the lead (14-13) on a three-pointer
by sophomore forward Samantha DeVore (Norwich,
CT).
St. Thomas Aquinas reclaimed the lead (20-18) with 4:55 remaining
in the first half on a Theresa Dowling lay-up. The Spartans did not
stop there and completed an 11-0 run to build a six-point lead. The
Mavericks were able to finish off the first half on a positive note
when Baxter stole the ball from Claire Wilson and connected on a
lay-up at the other end of the court to go into halftime trailing
by just two points by a score of 28-26.
In the second half, the Spartans shot very well from the floor and
put the Mavericks in an early hole. Dowling hit back-to-back
three-pointers to build an 11-point lead (43-32) with 16:15
remaining. The Mavericks responded and cut the lead to four on two
free throws by Finnegan.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Wilson then went on a tear scoring the
next eight points of the game on two three-pointers and a lay-up to
give the Spartans a 10-point lead with 11:24 remaining.
On the next possession Baxter spotted up and nailed a jumper to
reach 1,000 points for her career and sparked the Mercy offense to
cut the deficit to four points on a Reece jumper at 55-51 with 9:13
remaining.
However, the Spartan shooters proved to be too much for the
Mavericks as Wilson and Dowling continued to hit their shots. St.
Thomas Aquinas was 7-for-12 from downtown in the second half and
shot 59.4 percent in the half.
Wilson and Dowling led the Spartans with 20 points each. They were
a combined 8-for-17 from long range. Mercy out rebounded St. Thomas
Aquinas 47 to 34 with both teams stealing the ball 11 times.
The Mavericks will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel
to play C.W. Post at 5 p.m.
