Mount Saint Vincent - 81; Farmingdale State - 72
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. | Senior forward
Layla Mendoza (Westhampton Beach, N.Y.) led all players with 25 points and 12 rebounds Thursday night, as the Farmingdale State College women's basketball dropped an 81-72, Skyline Conference decision at the hands of the University of Mount Saint Vincent.
Mendoza opened the scoring for FSC (10-14, 8-11 Skyline) with a layup off a pass from freshman
Mia Simmons (Jamaica, N.Y.) five seconds after the opening tip, with the pair combining on three free throws to give the hosts a 5-2 lead two minutes into play. The Dolphins (18-6, 14-5) took control of play with a 14-4 run, and ended the first period ahead by a 20-13 margin.
After MSV went into the halftime break up 45-28 following a late 10-0 run in the second quarter, the Rams started to chip away at their deficit midway through the third period. Trailing 53-34 with 4:53 on the clock, Mendoza converted a layup to start a quarter-ending, 18-7 run to bring Farmingdale State back to within single digits at 60-52 through 30 minutes of action. Eight points during the spurt were scored by sophomore shooting guard
Adrianna Romo-Leroux (Selden, N.Y.), including 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the final 2:05.
Eight of the first 10 points of the fourth quarter went in Mount Saint Vincent's favor to push the visitors ahead 68-54 with 7:05 remaining. FSC guards
Victoria Kantzian (So.; Staten Island, N.Y.) and
Emily Pohalski (Sr.; Huntington, N.Y.) each knocked down a pair from the charity stripe, before Mendoza registered four-straight points to slice the deficit to 69-62 just over four minutes to go. Pohalski's old-fashioned 3-point play with 2:50 showing pulled the Rams to within six points (74-68). However, the Rams could get no closer, as five MSV free throws in the final 25 seconds sealed the visitors' victory.
Pohalski scored eight points, dished out three assists and drew six charges on the defensive end of the floor for Farmingdale State, with Simmons scoring in double figures for the second-straight night with her 11-point showing.Â
Regular-season play wraps up for Farmingdale State on Saturday (Feb. 17), when it plays host to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Senior Day at 1 p.m. The Rams can secure the sixth and final seed in next week's Skyline Conference Women's Basketball Championship if they were defeat the Mariners.
