NEWBURGH, N.Y. (Jan. 15, 2026) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss on Thursday night, falling to Mount St. Mary College, 80–73, in Skyline Conference action. The Mariners fall to 11-4 (8-2 Skyline) with the loss, while the Knights improve to 9-6 (8-2 Skyline) with the victory.
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Sophomore Carolae Barton (Waldorf, Md.) delivered a dominant performance in the loss, pouring in a career-high 34 points on 15-of-22 shooting and hauling down a game-high 18 rebounds for a double-double. Junior Emily Grasseler (Millbrook, N.Y.) also posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds while senior Hannah Ramsden (Port Aransas, Texas) chipped in 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Sophomore Breanna Sommers (Casa Grande, Ariz.) dished out a career-best five assists and chipped in with eight points and eight boards.
Merchant Marine shot 41.5 percent from the field (33-of-80) and outrebounded Mount St. Mary 52–39, including 21 offensive boards. USMMA also scored 40 points in the paint.
The game swung back and forth throughout four quarters and an extra session, featuring seven ties and multiple lead changes.
The Blue and Gray set an aggressive tone early behind Barton, who opened the scoring with a jumper at 9:21 to make it 2–0, then finished in the paint at 8:52 for a 4–2 edge. After MSMC jumped in front 7–4 on a three at 7:49, USMMA answered with back-to-back layups from Ramsden at 6:13 and 5:42 to regain the lead, 10–7. The quarter stayed tight down the stretch, but Ramsden's three at 2:32 put Merchant Marine up 15–12, and Grasseler capped the period with a finish inside at 0:04 to send the Mariners to the second up 19–17.
Mount St. Mary erased the deficit early in the second, tying the game at 19–19 at 9:46 and taking its first lead on a fast-break layup at 8:51 to make it 23–21. The Mariners responded with a Ramsden jumper at 7:57 to pull even at 23 and regained a brief advantage on a pair of Barton free throws at 7:02 to go back in front 25-23. The Knights surged again late in the half, using a three-pointer at 4:19 and steady free-throw shooting to build a slim cushion before Grasseler's putback at 1:13 trimmed it to 35–33 to help USMMA trail by two going into the halftime break.
The Mariners came out of the break with momentum as Barton scored on consecutive possessions on a layup at 9:31 and a fast-break finish at 9:11 to push the visitors ahead, 38–35. MSMC answered quickly, however, turning defense into points and using free throws at 5:59 and a layup at 5:32 to reclaim the lead 41-38. Barton kept the Blue and Gray within striking distance with a jumper at 2:03 to make it 44–43, and Grasseler's basket with 20 seconds left cut the margin to one again 46-45 going into the final quarter of play.
In the fourth quarter, Mt. St. Mary struck first with a three-pointer at 9:20 to extend the lead to 49–45, but Barton went back to work inside, scoring at 8:53, converting a tip-in at 6:52 to make it 52-50. Merchant Marine finally pulled ahead late when Grasseler came up with a steal and converted a fast-break layup at 1:06 to make it 62–58. The teams traded buckets and timeouts in the final 30 seconds as Grasseler hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left to give the Blue and Gray a 67–64 edge. The Knights forced overtime on a three-pointer off of an offensive board with one second to knot it up at 67.
The visitors struck first in overtime as Ramsden knocked down a jumper at 4:53 for a 69–67 lead, but Mount St. Mary answered immediately and then took control at the line. The Knights moved in front for good on a layup at 2:22, making it 73-69. The Mariners cut it to 75-73 on two free throws at 1:02, but MSMC sealed the game at the stripe, closing out the 80–73 win.
Brianna Guglielmo led Mount St. Mary with a double-double with a game-high 34 points, while Angelina Donato chipped in with 17 points. Sara Cashin ripped down a team-high 11 rebounds on the evening.
Merchant Marine hits the hardwood again on the road Saturday, Jan. 17, against Purchase at 2 p.m. in Skyline action.
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