EMMITSBURG, Md. – The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team survived a close game Monday night in Knott Area, with the Blackbirds beating Mount St. Mary's, 48-45. With the win, LIU moves into sole possession of seventh place in the Northeast Conference, with a 9-18 overall record, 6-10 in NEC play.

Mount St. Mary's opened the game on a 14-2 run, including nine points from senior guard Jacqueline Brewer. LIU would start to get on the board at 13:41, when junior Jolanna Ford made a layup. Junior Sophie Bhasin made a three-pointer, and junior Jahmia Phillips made two free throws to help narrow the gap. Another Bhasin three at 7:23 brought the Blackbirds within striking distance, cutting the lead to 18-12.

Just one minute later, sophomore Shanovia Dove made a driving layup, and added a made free throw 30 seconds later to cut Mount's lead to three points, 18-15 at 5:45. But Mount would use five more points from Brewer to widen the gap back up, and the home team had a 25-19 lead at the break.

The Blackbirds came into the second half on fire, using quick baskets from Dove and senior Letava Whippy to cut the lead down to 25-23 at the 19-minute mark. Bhasin tied the game up for the first time with a layup just 30 seconds later, knotting the score at 25. LIU took the lead for good just a minute and a half later, on a made free throw by Ford.

At 16:52, Whippy had another layup, this time that sparked a Blackbird scoring run. LIU outscored Mount 8-0, taking a 34-27 lead at 13:15.  Mount St. Mary's continued to fight, closing LIU's lead to just four points at the eight-minute mark, and then used a three from Jen Carney to close the gap to 44-41 with 3:40 on the clock.

The final minutes of the game were close, and Mount guard Jody Chickey made it the closest it had been in the half, when she made a layup with 21 seconds on the clock to cut the lead down to 46-45. But in the final 17 seconds of the game, Whippy and Bhasin both made free throws to help assure the Blackbirds a 48-45 win.

Junior Sophie Bhasin led LIU with 15 points, while senior Letava Whippy had nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Jolanna Ford also had eight rebounds in the win.

Up next, the Blackbirds travel to take on Sacred Heart, Saturday, February 28 at 1 p.m.