The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team won the 13th Skyline Conference title in program history Saturday afternoon, pulling away for a 61-53 victory over the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
The game marked the Mount's 11th straight victory and pushed it to 23-3 heading into the 2022 NCAA Division III Tournament.
Morina Bojka of Prospect, Conn. led the Knights by 19 points and was named Skyline Conference Championship Most Outstanding Player. Mount Coach Colleen Ames was named Skyline Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.
A tightly contested opening period featured four lead changes before baskets by the Knights' Annie Keenan of Nesconset, N.Y. and Lauren Desrats of Warwick, N.Y. opened a 12-9 advantage in the first quarter. With the Knights in front 14-10, their largest lead of the period, USMMA responded with the final four points of the quarter, to knot the score at 14-14.
The Knights closed the second period by building their lead back to 34-29. With a shot percent of about 34 percent in the first half, the Knights struggled from three-point range after going just 2-for-16 from behind the arc.
In the second half, neither team would get on the board until Keenan knocked down a pair of free-throws in the third quarter to give the Knights a 36-29 advantage. USMMA responded with the next six points to cut the Mount's advantage down to a single point, at 36-35. But Bojka pushed the Mount back in front by three with a jumper before Asia Rivera of Saddle Brook, N.Y. buried a three-pointer.
In the fourth quarter, the Knights put together a 15-2 run covering nearly six minutes to open their largest lead of the game at 58-43. Though USMMA climbed back to within seven points of the Mount, the Knights ultimately ended the game with a 61-53 victory.
The Knights will open the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m. when it takes on Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md. To watch, follow these links: