WATERBURY, Conn. – Freshman guard Jasmine Day-Cox finished with a career-high 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting for Post University Women's Basketball, but a 10-0 fourth-quarter run by visiting Mercy University helped the Mavericks pull away for the 71-60 road win in the Drubner Center on Saturday afternoon. The loss dropped the Eagles to 1-11 on the season, falling in their fifth consecutive game. 

THE BASICS

Post University 60, Mercy University 71

Post University (1-11)
 
Mercy University (7-5)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Another slow start for the Post offense allowed Mercy to jump out to a quick 9-0 lead in the first three minutes, forcing a timeout from Head Coach Courtney Burns as four different Mavericks recorded points during the run. Out of that timeout, sophomore forward Alyssa Rossignol and Day-Cox answered back with a pair of baskets for the Eagles to bring them back within five in a first quarter that Post shot only 5-for-14 (35.7%) with a 0-for-2 showing from three-point range. 

However, the defense for the Eagles locked down Mercy over the final seven minutes and change, holding them to six points while senior guard Naj White sparked a strong finish to the frame with Post down nine, to pull within three points, 15-12. But moving into the second quarter, the Mavericks would continuously hold off each push from Post who never got within more than three points in the first half.

Down by a high for the half at 10 points, 28-18, Rossignol started a brief 5-0 spurt for the Eagles to end the second quarter while a foul by freshman forward Morgan Miller on graduate guard Erin Harris allowed her to take three free throws with no time left on the clock, pulling Post back within five points, 28-23. White and Day-Cox both had a team-high six points while the Eagles shot just 9-for-28 (32.1%) in the half with no threes made. Mercy was led by senior guard Jaclyn Stanavich with seven points while the Mavericks shot 13-for-29 (44.8%) from the floor and made 2-of-9 threes. 

To start the third, Day-Cox would hit a layup in transition to cut the deficit down to three points, 28-25, and that would be the closest the Eagles would get the rest of the afternoon. An immediate 5-0 run by junior forward Angelina Barrera helped the Mavericks regain their eight-point edge and despite some attempts from Post to get back into the game, the deficit would end up growing to 11 points, 48-37, by the end of the end of the quarter following a Stanavich layup at the buzzer. 

Right away to start the fourth, sophomore guard Hannah Finnerty sparked a 6-0 for the Eagles, making it a five-point game, 48-43, with still 8:27 to play. Still trailing by six, 58-52, following Rossignol's free throws with 3:53 left in regulation, a 10-0 run over the next two minutes by Stanavich and the Mercy offense put the game away for the Mavericks who led by a game-high 16 points with 1:31 to go. Stanavich would finish with 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting and nearly had a double-double after grabbing nine rebounds in the win for Mercy. White followed up her 37-point performance the other day with 13 points on 6-for-19 shooting and seven rebounds as the Eagles fell by 11 points, 71-60, heading into their nine-day break. 

BY THE NUMBERS  

• Jasmine Day-Cox led Post University with a career-high 17 points on 8-for-12 shooting in 27 minutes of action while snagging four rebounds 
• Jaclyn Stanavich narrowly missed a double-double for Mercy University, finishing with 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting which included three three-pointers and snagged nine rebounds 
• So far this season, Post University has been outscored by an average of 15.1 points per game across their 12 games this season 
• Post University has lost their last three matchups against Mercy University after winning the previous six between the 2009-10 and 2018-19 season 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University will have 10 days off for the holiday before returning to face St. Thomas Aquinas College on New Year's Eve in the Drubner Center at 12:00 PM. This is the fourth straight season the two teams will face each other with the last one going the way of the Spartans in Sparkill, New York by a 70-57 final score after the Eagles had won the previous two matchups.