SPARKILL, N.Y. - The Saint Michael's College women's basketball team downed Mercy College, 73-64, on Saturday during the Saint Thomas Aquinas College Tip-Off Challenge in Aquinas Hall.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (1-1), Mercy (1-1)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Junior Paige Slaven (Fair Haven, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven Regional), 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 7-for-13 field goals
• Junior Makayla Blake (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie Central), 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 offensive rebounds, 5-for-9 field goals
• Senior Anika Kapral (Dummerston, Vt./Vermont Academy), 12 points, 4 rebounds, 4-for-5 free throws
• Graduate student Emma MacDonough (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington), 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4-for-4 free throws
• Senior Kelly Laggis (Fairfield, Vt./BFA-Saint Albans), 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 offensive rebounds, 4-for-6 free throws
• First-year Ava MacDonough (South Burlington, Vt./Rice Memorial), 8 points, 3-for-6 field goals, 2-for-3 three-pointers
• Junior Jaxson Nadeau (Wakefield, Mass./Tilton School), 4 assists

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Katie Wall, 15 points, 4 assists
• Senior Asha Talib, 11 points, 9 rebounds
• Junior Maria Tedesco, 8 points, 14 rebounds, 5 offensive rebounds

GAME FACTS

• The teams swapped the lead 12 times.
• Saint Michael's held a key 18-9 scoring advantage on free throws while holding the Mavericks to 3-of-17 three-point shooting.
• The Purple Knights improved to 4-1 in the all-time series, extending their winning streak to four games since a loss in 1983.

THE ACTION

• Blake scored seven points in the opening quarter, including burying a three-pointer on the first possession. The teams played through seven lead changes, as neither led by more than three points.
• The greatest second-quarter advantage for either team was four points. With her team down 31-29, Laggis netted four straight points to spark a 6-0 run, and the Purple Knights led 36-32 at halftime.
• In a 40-40 contest, Saint Michael's went ahead for good thanks to a 14-3 run, forging ahead 54-43 by the time 1:05 remained in the third quarter. Laggis and Emma MacDonough both had four points.
• Mercy drew within 58-56 on Wall's jumper with 4:28 left in regulation, but sophomore Molly Brophy (Greenwich, N.Y./Greenwich Central School) and Blake netted consecutive lay-ins to push the lead back to six.
• After Talib's jumper cut the deficit to 62-58 with 2:47 left, Slaven knocked down a jumper before Kapral converted a three-point play and Emma MacDonough buried a three, putting the Purple Knights up 12 with 1:13 to play.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Wednesday vs. The College of Saint Rose, 5:30 p.m.
• The Purple Knights host a Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts (MOVE) Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week food drive that night. Patrons with three non-perishable food items receive free admission.