BROOKLYN, N.Y. --- Senior DeAngelique Waithe continued her recent run of stellar play with a 17-point, 10-rebound effort to lead the LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team to a 53-48 win over the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers Monday afternoon at the Steinberg Wellness Center.
Waithe went 8-for-12 from the field, logging her fifth straight double-double and sixth of the year. She also added a career-best four blocks to help the Blackbirds (7-9, 3-2 NEC) eclipse their win total from 2016-17 with 13 games remaining.
LIU led wire-to-wire against Mount St. Mary's (6-11, 3-3 NEC), jumping out to a 5-0 lead a three from redshirt junior Drew Winter and a driving layup by Waithe. The Blackbirds would take a slim two-point lead (15-13) into the second quarter but would extend it to seven as Waithe scored the first five points of the period to put LIU ahead, 20-13. The Mount responded with five straight of their own, bringing the lead back down to two (20-18) but a pair of corner three pointers from sophomore Seneca Richards increased the Blackbirds' lead to eight (26-18) with 4:16 remaining in the half.
Graduate transfer Denisha Petty-Evans scored LIU's first four points of the third on a pair of jumpers, giving the hosts a nine-point edge (31-22) with 6:54 left in the period. A Mount three-pointers at the 4:01 mark trimmed their deficit to four (33-29) but LIU closed the quarter on an 11-2 run, fueled a 6-0 spurt from junior Paris Jones, a pair of Petty-Evans free throws and three points from freshman Tia Montagne, including a running floater that beat the third quarter buzzer.
Petty-Evans once again hit LIU's first two shots of the fourth but the team struggled through a 16-5 Mountaineer run that shaved LIU's lead down to two points, 49-47. However, the Blackbirds - who are 4-1 in games decided by five points or less - closed the deal in the final minute. Winter finished on a tough jumper in traffic with 52 seconds to go (51-47) and Waithe sealed the deal with a left-handed drive and score with 18 seconds left.
OTHER NOTES
- Jones continued her steady integration back into the Blackbird fold, putting up season highs of seven points, three steals and two rebounds while adding an assists.
- Petty-Evans' season-long streak of double-digit scoring efforts ended against Mount St. Mary's. LIU's scoring leader finished with nine points on 3-for-15 shooting and added four rebounds.
- LIU held Mount St. Mary's to its lowest scoring total of the season.
NEXT UP
LIU hits the road for two games this weekend, beginning with a matchup with Bryant on Saturday, January 20 at 1 p.m.