St. Louis - The Maryville women's basketball team got the Brita Hand era off to a successful start as the Saints defeated Davenport 70-59 Friday afternoon.
Antoinette Mussorici tallied a game-high 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while
Haidyn Pitsch finished with 15 points and seven boards. The Saints defense forced the Panthers into 25 turnovers that led to 22 points.
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Davenport recap
Down 30-24 at the break, the Saints rallied in the third quarter.
Carsyn Fearday hit two free throws, and sank a jumper. Later, two straight buckets by Mussorici pulled the Saints to within 39-36. Maryville was still down 47-41 but closed the third on an 8-0 run.
Faith Hawthorne powered up for a bucket, and
Hunter Stidham scored inside. Pitsch's jumper tied the score, and another bucket from the junior guard put the Saints ahead 49-47.
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After the Panthers tied the game at 51-all, Kirby scored on a layup to give the Saints a lead they would not surrender the rest of the way. Mussorici tacked on two free throws for a 55-51 margin. Davenport closed to 58-56 but the Saints reeled off a 7-2 burst to stretch the cushion to 65-58 with 1:50 to play. The Saints iced the game by hitting 5-of-6 free throws in the closing minute of play.
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Statistical Leaders
Points:
Antoinette Mussorici - 21
Rebounds:
Antoinette Mussorici and
Haidyn Pitsch - 7
Assists:
Carsyn Fearday - 4
3-Pointers:
Haidyn Pitsch - 2
Steals:
Antoinette Mussorici - 3
Blocked Shots:
Olivia Kastens,
Rylee Mulvaney and
Antoinette Mussorici - 1
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Records
Maryville: 1-0
Davenport: 0-1
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What's Next?
The Saints are right back in action as they host Grand Valley State, the No. 1 team in the nation, for a 1 p.m. game Saturday, Nov. 12.
