ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Dec. 7, 2016) – The Molloy College women's basketball team mounted an incredible offensive performance to hand Queens College their first conference loss of the season. Molloy now sits at 8-2 (2-1 ECC) on the season, while Queens falls to 7-2 (3-1 ECC).

Both teams came out of the gate strong, but Molloy worked to an early 11-6 lead following layups from Ihnacinse Grady (Amityville, N.Y.) and Kathryn Gibson (Neponsit, N.Y.). The Knights interjected with a jumper from Madison Rowland (Albany, N.Y.), but Molloy exploded on an 11 point run with baskets from Symone Kelly (Wyandanch, N.Y.), Kamala Thompson (Selden, N.Y.), Maya Joyner (North Babylon, N.Y.), Gibson, and Grady. Madison and MacKenzie Rowland (Albany, N.Y.) posted five points at the end of the first quarter to bring the score to 24-13 Lions.

Emer Moloney (Glendale, N.Y.) opened the scoring in the second quarter with a layup just ten seconds in, but the maroon and white were once again able to string points together. 12 points over the next three and a half minutes, including eight from McKayla Hernandez (Windermere, Fla.) put Molloy up 36-16. Beth Bonin (Cicero, N.Y.) and Celeste Moran (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) combined for 10 points for the Knights, but Molloy ended the half ahead 43-26.

The third quarter opened quietly, but free throws from MacKenzie Rowland combined with a layup from Madison Rowland (Albany, N.Y.) brought Queens to within 15. Aliyah McDonald (Hempstead, N.Y.), Kelly, and Hernandez all posted field goals to push Molloy's lead back to 20 points. The Knights tried to get something started, but were continually countered by the unstoppable Molloy offense. Gibson launched two consecutive three-pointers to push the advantage to 22 points. A last-second layup from Jessica Kalbfleisch (Ridge, N.Y.) sent the teams into the final quarter with Molloy up 65-40.

McDonald opened the final frame with a pair of layups to extend Molloy's lead to nearly 30 points. Kammikia Barnes (Fort Drum, N.Y.), Bonin, and Madison Rowland brought the Knights to within 22, but consecutive three-pointers from Shantana Kanhoye (South Richmond Hill, N.Y.) thrusted the lead back to 76-48 with six minutes remaining in the game. In the final minutes, the Knights made a push for a comeback, going on a 21-4 run to come within eight points. A layup from Kelly with 1:16 remaining pushed Molloy's lead back to double-digits. MacKenzie and Madison Rowland both sunk buckets to cut the score to 84-78 with just 56 seconds left on the clock, but made foul shots from Kelly, McDonald, and Grady sealed the game and the win for Molloy 88-78.

The Lions saw scoring from the entire team, including 30 from off the bench. Hernandez (16), Kelly (15), McDonald (14), and Gibson (13) all finished in double-digits. Hernandez went six-of-nine from the field and made four of her six three-point attempts. Both Bonin and MacKenzie Rowland topped 20 points for the Knights, posting 27 and 21 points, respectively.

Molloy kicks off a stretch of road contests on Saturday (Dec. 10) as they take on Roberts Wesleyan College at 2:00 p.m.