Box Score
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BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team dropped a 69-60 decision to Mount St. Mary's in the Steinberg Wellness Center Saturday afternoon. Senior Cleandra Roberts, who had 23 points, led the Blackbirds. With the loss, LIU stands at 5-17 overall, 3-8 in the Northeast Conference, while Mount improves to 12-11, 7-4 in NEC play.
The game started heavily in favor of the Mountaineers, as the visiting team outscored LIU, 10-2 in the first three minutes of play. But the Blackbirds began to fight their way back. Junior Kelly Robinson hit a layup at 17:02, and over the next five minutes, the Blackbirds would outscore Mount, 12-6, cutting the lead to 16-14 with 12 minutes to play in the first half. But Mount used back-to-back three pointers from Jessie Kaufman to widen the lead back up, 24-14 at 10:40.
In the final ten minutes of the first half, LIU would outscore Mount St. Mary's, 18-8, on jumpers from Letava Whippy and Cleandra Roberts, along with a three-pointer from freshman Aleisha Myers, and a seven point scoring spree by sophomore Sophie Bhasin. Bhasin's jumper with 48 seconds left cut the MSM lead to 37-36, before Jenn Carney made both free throws to give the Mountaineers a 39-36 lead at the break.
LIU shot 50 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the arc in the first half, two totals that would dip in the second stanza.
Half number two started out promisingly for LIU, as the Blackbirds opened the period on an 11-4 tear. Senior Fanny Cavallo made two layups to cut the lead to 41-40 at 15:46, and from there, Myers hit a three pointer, and Roberts hit two jumpers in the span of 45 seconds to give LIU its first lead of the day, 47-45 with 13:53 to play.
Mount answered with an 11-0 run, however, that spanned four minutes, and put the visiting team up, 56-47 at the 9:40 mark. Over the next four minutes, the two teams would trade baskets back and forth, and the Blackbirds couldn't make any headway. Roberts would spark a small run at 3:51, when she drained a jumper, and then converted a traditional three-point play with 2:22 to play. Her efforts cut the gap to 64-60, but the Blackbirds struggled to score again in the final two minutes and would turn the ball over twice in crucial moments, while Mount went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 44 seconds. In the end, Mount St. Mary's was able to take the 69-60 win.
Senior Cleandra Roberts led all players with 23 points, while sophomore Sophie Bhasin chipped in 13. Senior Fanny Cavallo was a defensive force, as she had 10 rebounds and three blocks, while junior Letava Whippy filled the box score with five points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Up next for the Blackbirds is the team's first road trip in over two weeks, as LIU will hit the road to take on Central Connecticut State, Monday, February 10 at 1 7 p.m. in New Britain, Conn.