Martin erupts for career-high 16 points as Sage nearly knocks off MSMC
An impressive second half from the Gators on Thursday almost saw them knock off top-ranked Mt. St. Mary.
Troy, NY---The Sage Colleges women's basketball team hosted the Knights of Mt. St. Mary College in Thursday evening in the Neff Center in a Skyline Conference contest. A strong second half performance almost saw the Gators knock off Mt. St. Mary on Thursday night, but in the end, the Knights triumphed 53-42. MSMC improves to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Skyline Conference having now won 12 consecutive league games dating back to mid-January, 2010. Sage drops to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the Skyline Conference.
The contest started off with both teams not finding their shot in the opening three minutes, but saw the Knights jump out to a 23-4 lead with 3:48 left before the half. Sage rallied and pulled within 13 at the half, trailing 25-12 at the break.
MSMC's sophomore guard Charnelle Saint-Laurent (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills West) opened the second stanza with a three-point basket of her own, before Sage erupted for a 10-point run spurred by two three-point baskets from rookie forward Chelsea Martin (Davenport, NY/Jefferson Central). The Gators trailed 28-22 at the 17:20 mark and cut the lead to four points at 15:20, 31-27.
The two teams exchanged baskets down the stretch and Sage hung in, trailing by just five points, 45-40 at 3:00. With 1:27 left to play, the Gators had their closest run with the Knight as Martin hit both free throws at the line and pulled her team to within three points, 45-42. Sophomore Charneice McCullough (Wyandanch, NY/Wyandanch Memorial) hit a three pointer at the one-minute mark and made three of her four free throw attempts in the final seconds of the game and gave MSMC a 51-42 lead at :31. Senior Jess Tice (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) made a key block of an attempt by sophomore Kara Hackett (Peru, NY/Peru Central) at :16 and was fouled on the play and subsequently made both of her free throws to seal the Knights' win.
For Sage, Martin finished with a game and career-high 16 points after shooting 3-5 from three-point range and 5-10 from the floor. Martin scored 14 second-half points in the game. Hackett led all players on the boards as she pulled down 12 rebounds, including 10 defensive boards.
McCullough finished with 15 points for the Knights and was the only player in double-digits on the night, while Tice added nine points and a team-best 11 rebounds with six blocked shots.
