BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team fell to visiting Northeast Conference opponent Mount St. Mary's Saturday afternoon at the Barclays Center, 76-69. The Blackbirds were a victim of strong shooting by the Mount, as the Mountaneers shot 53.5 percent overall, 55.6 percent from long distance, and 75 percent at the free throw line. Junior Sophie Bhasin led LIU in the loss with 23 points.
LIU opened the game with a layup by junior Shanice Vaughan to take an early 2-0 lead. But Mount St. Mary's tied it up 50 seconds later, and Mount's Jacqueline Brewer hit back to back three-point shots, giving her team the 8-2 advantage at 17:04. The Blackbirds mounted a slow comeback, and used a traditional three point play from sophomore Shanovia Dove to tie the game up, 15-15 with 12:09 on the clock. Dove would hit two more free throws, and a jumper by Bhasin gave LIU its largest lead of the game, 21-17, at 7:53.
The remained of the half was messy for LIU, as Mount would force the Blackbirds into six turnovers, and outscored LIU, 13-6 over the final seven minutes of play, taking a 30-27 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Blackbirds continued the battle. Vaughan hit a three pointer, and Dove followed it up with a layup, and the lead was down to one point, 36-36 at 16:53. At that point, however, Mount went on a run, outscoring LIU 17-5 over the next six minutes, widening the lead to 53-40 at 10:36. Another three by Brewer gave the Mountaineers their widest lead of the game just two minutes later, 62-44 with 7:54 to play.
LIU's hustle began to show, and in the next minute, LIU forced three Mount St. Mary's turnovers, and scored nine points to bring the lead down to just nine point, 62-53. The run eventual extended to 17-4, as the Blackbirds cut the gap to just five points, with a three pointer from Bhasin at 2:49.
With both teams over the limit, the final two minutes of play was a foul-fest that ended in a draw. Freshman Stylz Sanders converted an and0one with 42 seconds left to cut it to 70-65, but the Mount would make enough free throws in the final seconds to take the win, 76-69.
With the victory, Mount improved to 6-10 overall, 4-1 in the NEC, while LIU fell to 5-11 overall, 2-3 in NEC play.
BLACKBIRD BITS
• Junior Sophie Bhasin led LIU with 23 points, while Shanovia Dove added 13 points, and junior Shanice Vaughan added a career-high 11 points, along with three steals. Freshman Stylz Sanders also hit a new career mark with seven points, while junior Jahmia Phillips led LIU with six rebounds, and four points.
• The Mount had four players score in double-digits, using a balanced attack in the win. Jacqueline Brewer led her team with 19 points, going 3-for-6 from long distance.
• Up next, the Blackbirds hit the road to take on Central Connecticut State, Monday, January 19th at 7 p.m.