Lady Eagles Edge Dolphins for First Victory of Season

Riverdale, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College Lady Eagles (1-1, 1-0 SKY) basketball team opened Skyline Conference play on Tuesday night with a hard fought 64-60 win over host Mount Saint Vincent (1-2, 0-1 SKY). Eagles guard Laura Cohen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) topped all scorers with 20 points.

The Golden Eagles got off to a quick start in the game and jumped out to an early 13-8 lead after a Colleen Fitzsimons (Commack, N.Y./Commack) bucket with 13:33 left to play in the opening stanza. St. Joseph's got out to its largest lead of the period when Laura Cohen converted a lay-in on the fast break to give the visitors a 22-15 lead with 7:32 to play before the break.

Mount Saint Vincent answered the Cohen conversion with a hoop from Sinead Gooney that started a 12-1 spurt over a 4:21 span, bringing the Dolphins to their first lead of the game. Gooney capped the run with a jumper with 2:32 left in the half to give the Dolphins a 27-23 lead.

The Mount would carry the lead into the half, but saw the Golden Eagles score the last four points of the period to slice a six-point lead down to 29-27 after 20 minutes of play.

Both team struggled from the floor in the first half, with SJC shooting just over 28% and the Mount converting on 34.3% of its opportunities. The Golden Eagles made two more triples then the Mount and converted two more free-throws to stay within striking distance.

After St. Joseph's scored the first four points of the second half, Mount Saint Vincent got a bucket from Shanice Robinson and a triple from Kayla Giordano to sneak back in front 34-31 with just under 17 minutes left in regulation.

Over the next six minutes the lead would change hands four times before St. Joseph's took the lead for good on a pair of Christina Cohen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown) free throws with 4:17 to play. With the scored tied at 44-44, the Dolphins were outscored 12-4 over a five minute stretch, allowing the visitors to gain their largest lead of the day, 56-48, with 3:24 left in the contest.

Mount Saint Vincent would get the lead down to three points on four occasions and to a pair of tallies with two seconds left, but St. Joseph's converted eight free throws in the final 1:34 to seal the win.

Laura Cohen led all players in the game with 20 points on 5-for-16 shooting overall and 9-for-13 from the free throw line. She also totaled four assists and four steals. Christina Cohen added 17 points, while Amanda Bender (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) tallied 14 times. Fitzsimons led St. Joseph's with 12 rebounds.

Fraser finished the game with a team-high 13 points and a game and career-high 17 rebounds. She also blocked four shots and handed out a pair of assists.

Gooney did all of her scoring in the first half, going 5-for-7 from the floor to go along with three rebounds. Robinson added eight points and six boards for the Dolphins, while Desiree Rosa led the team with four assists.

Mount Saint Vincent finished the night shooting 36.1% from the floor and went just 2-for-7 from behind the arc. The Dolphins also finished the game 14-for-21 from the charity stripe.

The Golden Eagles wrapped up shooting an even 30% from the floor, but connected on six three-point field goals and 22 free throws. Christina Cohen hit three of her four triples in the final nine minutes, tying the score at 44-44 with the first and pushing the Golden Eagles ahead with the middle bucket.

St. Joseph's misfired on 17 free throws in the game, but still outscored the Mount by eight from the stripe. The Golden Eagles turned 23 Mount Saint Vincent turnovers into 24 points.

The Golden Eagles will host their home opener this Saturday as they take on CCNY at 3:00 p.m. in the Danzi Center.

(Game summary filed in conjunction with Mount Saint Vincent Sports Information)