Baxter Shatters Assist Record as Mavericks down NYIT 82-64 in Regular Season Finale
NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Result
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Baxter Shatters Assist Record as Mavericks down NYIT 82-64 in
Regular Season Finale
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Christina Baxter set a new |
DOBBS FERRY, NY - Senior guard Christina Baxter (Greenwood Lake, NY) tied a career-high with 12 assists and scored a game-high 17 points to lift the Mercy College women's basketball team to an 82-64 win over NYIT on Saturday. In the process, she set a new school record for career assists with 534, eclipsing the old mark of 523 compiled by Joyce LeNoir.
Baxter's record setting performance and the Mavericks' win, capped off a day that began with a presentation to honor Mercy College's seniors. Along with Baxter, this year's senior class includes guard Sasha Bowen (Boston, MA) and guard Jazmin Steele (Stoughton, MA).
Baxter tied LeNoir's mark early on with a feed to freshman Aimee Levine (Flushing, NY) that gave Mercy (10-17, 7-11 ECC) a 7-4 lead. She then dished out the record breaker to sophomore Ashley Finnegan (Worcester, MA) at the 15:21 mark, putting the Mavericks on top 11-6.
With Mercy leading 15-10, the Blue & White went on a 15-6 run that upped the advantage to 30-16 with 7:50 left in the first half. Baxter netted seven points in the spurt and Finnegan added four. NYIT (4-23, 3-15 ECC) would pull within nine at 38-29 with 1:52 left, but the Mavericks got a three-pointer from Samantha DeVore (Norwich, CT) and a bucket by Jasmine Williams (Stratford, CT) in the closing seconds to take a 43-29 lead into the break.
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Ashley Finnegan |
The Bears stayed within striking distance early in the second frame, cutting the deficit to 10 (49-39) on a jumper by Mary Sbrissa (Castelfranco Veneto, Italy) with 15:39 remaining, but they would pull no closer the rest of the way. With a 53-43 margin the Mavericks went on one more big run, this time a 20-4 outburst that gave them a 73-47 cushion and they put it away from there.
Baxter finished 5-of-11 from the field and 6-for-6 at the charity stripe, adding four steals. Reece also registered a double-double with 14 points and 18 rebounds. Levine and sophomore Ashley Borofsky (Southington, CT) added 11 points each and Finnegan was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field to finish with 10 points.
Madison Robertson (Shirley, NY) led NYIT with 16 points, while Brittany Almonte (Syracuse, NY) chipped in 12 points.
The Mavericks will be the number seven seed in next week's East Coast Conference (ECC) Tournament. They will take on number two seed Dowling on Wednesday, March 4. Tip-off time is to be announced. The playoff bid is Mercy College's first since the 2001-02 season. The Mavericks' 10 wins are the most for the program since Michele Coyle's 1996-97 squad finished 13-13.
