Mount St Charles Crushes Classical

Mount Saint Charles and Classical battled back and fourth during the first eight and a half minutes of a Division II North battle with the hometown Mounties holding a slim four point lead. Up 17-13, MSC went on a 16-0 run beginning with a pass from senior co-captain Adriana Murano to Alyssa Rossi underneath the basket. The two points was the beginning of the end for Classical as the home team went on to defeat the Purple 57-44.

“We played this team just a week ago and found ourselves trailing by 12 at the half before we mounted a comeback,” Mount Saint Charles Coach Nina Moury said. “Tonight was a different story. I really can’t tell you what the difference was, maybe it was home court, I don’t know.”

One of the big reasons for the MSC double-digit win was the play of senior co-captain Maria Saia. The Wrentham Massachusetts native had a game high 20 points, 14 coming in the first half. Saia also contributed heavily during the 16 point outburst that put the game away scoring eight points, including six straight for the home team.

In addition to Saia’s 20, Rossi knocked down 19 points for the night (11 in the first half and 8 in the second).  The two contributed 39 of the team’s 57 points or 68 percent of the team’s offense.

“That run allowed us to open up the gap between us and Classical,” the coach said. “Once we got that gap, we just kept it.”

With a 20-point cushion for the later part of the first half and into the early part of the second half, Moury was able to sit her big guns down, giving the second string some valuable playing time as the tournament approaches.

Mount Saint Charles improves to 17-1 with the win and will be back in action on Thursday evening against Warwick Vets. Classical drops to 12-8.