KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Dec. 12, 2022) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's basketball team closed the home portion of their 2022-23 schedule on a high note with 59-41 victory over the Lehman College Lightning on Monday night. USMMA's fifth-straight victory bumped their record up to 8-1, while the Lightning dropped to 2-6 in defeat.
Game Link
The non-conference duel featured a season-high 27 points from senior
Lauren Hunter (Tinley Park, Ill.). It was just another day at the office for Hunter, who registered a double-double for the third consecutive contest and her sixth of the season overall. Unstoppable from the field, Hunter notched another season-high in field goals made with 11. An 11-for-23 mark by Hunter propelled the Mariners to be in control for the full 40 minutes.
With Hunter on fire, the Lightning were also unable to strike down the offensive prowess of sophomore
Grace Jackson (Parma, Idaho). For the sixth-straight game, Jackson recorded double figures with 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field. The sophomore scorer has contributed 11 or more points in eight of nine games this season and is averaging 12.9 points per game this year.
Head Coach
Matt Dempsey's offense has come alive as of late, shooting over 39% from the field in each of the last for games. Remarkably, the Mariners, for the second-straight game, shot exactly 39.7% from the field.
Good offense and good defense go together like two peas in a pod and tonight was no exception. USMMA for the fifth game in a row allowed 50 points or less to their opposition. The Skyline Conference's third-ranked defense has allowed 48.7 points per game to start the season. Merchant Marine could soon leapfrog Mount Saint Vincent, who allows 48 points per game, for the number two spot in the defensive rankings.
The Mariners' defensive hot streak over the last five games has been nothing short of impressive. Allowing 45.8 points per game in that span, USMMA's lights out style of defense was on display once again tonight. Lehman scored eight points or less in three out of four quarters and shot 28.3% for the game from the field and went 3-for-15 from long range. A big reason for Lehman's low shooting percentages? The Mariners outrebounded the Lightning 54-30 and allowed only seven second chance points.
Merchant Marine will look to continue their winning ways two days from now in a rematch with the Yeshiva Maccabees on Wednesday, Dec. 14. The Mariners took down the Maccabees in round one this season with a 68-41 win back on Nov. 22 at Liebertz Gymnasium. Tipoff for USMMA's final game of the 2022 calendar year is set for 8 p.m. inside Baruch College's ARC Arena, as the Mariners will go for win number six in a row. Live stats and a live video feed of the game will be available with links on
the USMMA Women's Basketball Schedule Page.
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