AMCATS Charge to 74-66 Victory over Mustangs

PAXTON, Mass. – The Anna Maria College women's basketball team downed the visiting Mustangs of Mount Ida College by a final score of 74-66 on Thursday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) showdown.

The AMCATS improve to 3-14 on the season and 1-9 in the conference while the Mustangs fall to 4-14 overall and 0-9 in the GNAC.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The AMCATS were led by senior Christina Gavin (Dudley, Mass.) who posted 21 points on the day. Senior guard, Deja Taitt (Cambia Heights, N.Y.), junior Kristina Russo (Windsor, Conn.) and sophomore Shannon Hofmiller (Oxford, Conn.) also added double-digit figures with 17, 13 and 11 points respectively.

Four Mustangs posted double-digit performances led by Angelique Martinez with 14 points. Martinez also set the all-time rebounding record for the GNAC. Trish Liotta and Brittany Crosby notched 11 and 10 points respectively.

Mount Ida outrebounded Anna Maria by a 59-39 margin, but was outscored 17-7 in second change points. Anna Maria forced 19 Mount Ida turnovers and scored 15 of their 74 points off of those errors. The game saw seven ties and five lead changes.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Anna Maria and Mount Ida traded leads multiple times throughout the contest and it wasn't until the final minute of play that Anna Maria took a significant eight-point lead to secure the victory.

The AMCATS came out of the gate first with a three-pointer by senior, Nicole Mareiro (Acushnet, Mass.) to gain the early 3-0 lead. Taitt followed with a layup to extend the lead to 5-0. The Mustangs responded quickly with a layup by Martinez and a three-pointer from Breanna Muir to tie the game at five apiece. The two teams exchanged baskets through the entire first half and entered the break with a tied score, 31-31.

Mount Ida gained the lead back early in the second half with two made free throws by Katlyn Jesse. The Mustangs held onto this lead for five minutes, gaining a 40-35 lead with six minutes to play in the third quarter. Taitt tied the game back up 40-40 with 5:28 to play by knocking down two free throws. The AMCATS and Mustangs battled it out at the free-throw line and a final three-pointer from Russo and a jump shot from Mustang's Brittany Crosby finished the third quarter scoring, with the AMCATS ahead 53-48

 The first two minutes of play were scoreless in the fourth quarter before Crosby knocked down two free-throws to bring Mount Ida back within three, 53-50. With 7:15 on the clock the Mustangs tied the game at 53 apiece with a made free-throw by Jessica Cyr. This was as close as they would come and as the AMCATS held onto the lead for the final victory, 74-66.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Anna Maria will travel to GNAC rival Saint Joseph's (Me) on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 1:00 p.m. The Mustangs return to action on the same day against Rivier University at 1:00 p.m.