SPARKILL, N.Y. (Nov. 12, 2016) - The Molloy women's basketball team opened the 2016-17 campaign by participating in the St. Thomas Aquinas Tip-Off Classic on Saturday (Nov. 12), where the Lions earned a 71-62 victory over Dominican College. The maroon and white started the scoring off early, as graduate student Kamala Thompson (Selden, N.Y.) sunk a layup 27 seconds into the contest. The Chargers were able to answer back with three quick jump shots of their own. With six minutes remaining in the opening quarter, the two teams exhanged scores, senior Aliyah McDonald (Hempstead, N.Y.) making a jumper for the Lions while Shannon McGill (Staten Island, N.Y.) put up a three-pointer for the Chargers. Molloy would go on a 15 point run to end the quarter, featuring five points from both Thompson and McDonald, three from sophomore Ihnacinse Grady (Amityville, N.Y.), and two from senior Maggie Salomone (Narragansett, R.I.).

The Lions got off to the early start in the second quarter as well, as freshman Maya Joyner (North Babylon, N.Y.) extended the lead to 21-9 in favor of Molloy. Dominican received four quick points from Taylor Nelson (Piscataway, N.J.) to bring the Chargers back to within eight. Molloy, however, continued firing, scoring 15 of the final 21 points in the half and going into the locker room up 36-19.

In the third quarter, Dominican put up 16 of the first 20 points, with Molloy's scores coming via a Thompson layup and a made pair of free throws by McDonald. Three points from both Grady and graduate Jessica Kalbfleisch (Ridge, N.Y.) as well as another layup from the Hempstead native would bring the score to 48-43 Lions heading into the final frame. Eight-point performances from McDonald and Thompson in the fourth quarter would help secure the victory for the Lions, with the score ending at 71-62 Molloy.

As a team, the Lions made nearly half of their field goals, totaling a 48.1 percentage. The maroon and white also had an impressive day from the charity stripe, sinking nearly 67% of their opportunities. Thompson and McDonald each played a complete 40 minutes and led all scorers. The graduate student led all scorers, posting 24 points and six assists, while McDonald went 6-12 from the line and earned 23 points of her own. Kalbfleisch pulled down 13 boards, while Grady totaled two steals in the win. The maroon and white will continue in the STAC Tip-Off Classic on Sunday (Nov. 13) when they face Wilmington University at 1:00 p.m.