SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Despite double-digit efforts from junior Amber Legare and sophomore Genelle Green, the Mount Holyoke College basketball team could not get past Oneonta State, falling 64-43 in non-conference action at the San Juan Shootout. The Red Dragons, who saw 11 of 14 players record at least two points, improve to 7-2 on the season. The Lyons slip to 3-5 overall.
MHC grabbed the game's first point as Legare sank a free throw shot at 19:02, but back-to-back shots from Grace Shilling and Sarah Lontgo made it a quick 4-1 lead for the Red Dragons with 16:32 left on the clock. The momentum continued to swing in both teams favor over the following three minutes as the Lyons took a 7-6 lead at the 13:54 mark on a shot from beyond the arc by junior captain Kate Karraker.
Oneonta State began to capitalize on a number of Mount Holyoke fouls late in the half as a pair of free throws from Lyteshia Price set the stage for two more makes by Kelly Mulligan. Legare drained a bucked to cut the lead to two (14-12), but a three-pointer from Cara Adams and two more shots from the line by Shilling pushed it to a 19-12 game with 8:11 to play.
A layup from junior Nicole DeMarchena helped cut the lead to 21-17 with 6:29 to play, but the Red Dragons saw Price lay down a layup and a three pointer to make it a nine-point contest. Shilling pushed it to 28-18 with 1:53 on the clock, but despite shots from Legare and Green over the final 47 seconds, the Lyons headed into halftime down 32-22.
In the second half, Oneonta State came out firing, going on a 12-0 run to open the stanza with eight of the points coming from Shilling. A free throw shot from Green helped break up the run and a three point play by Legare cut the lead to 18 points (44-26), but the Red Dragons continued to press, powering on another 12-0 run to make it a 56-26 advantage with 12:51 remaining.
A three-pointer from Oneonta's Kiera Murray pushed the lead to 32 points (59-27), but the Lyons battled back as senior Jennine Vizcaino dropped in three points and Legare poured in a layup to make it 60-38 with 4:22 on the clock.
Mount Holyoke continued to charge down the stretch as Karraker, Green and Vizcaino all poured in points, but the Red Dragons proved too strong.
For Oneonta State, Schilling posted a game-best 16 points, adding three assists and two steals. Alyshia Crawford added eight points and a game-best 12 rebounds, while Price chipped in with seven points and eight boards.
The Lyons saw Legare record a team-best 15 points, adding seven rebounds with an assist and a game-best five blocks. Green chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Vizcaino recorded eight points.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Monday at 2pm when it faces Westfield State to wrap up action at the San Juan Shootout. The Red Dragons are back in action on January 7th when they return home for SUNYAC play against Oswego State at 6pm.
