Rockville Centre, N.Y. – The Molloy women's basketball picked up a 66-53 victory over the Saints of D'Youville University Sunday afternoon on Bob Houlihan Court. The Lions improve to 8-7 on the campaign and 2-2 in ECC play, while the Saints move to 4-11 overall and 2-4 in league play.
 
How it Happened

• After junior Rosa Rizzitelli kicked off the game with a jumper in the first 14 seconds of the contest, the contest would see just one field goal recorded for the next 5:45 of play leaving the game tied at three.
• Junior Sophia Yearwood snapped the streak with a three-point basket with 4:01 left in the first quarter that sparked the Lions for the remainder of the stanza. Molloy finished off the opening 10 on a 13-6 rally, shooting 71 percent from the floor (5-of-7) and three-of-three from three-point range to take a 16-9 lead heading into the second quarter.
• The Lions were sparked by senior Danielle Hippner to begin the second stanza, as the center netted four of the squads opening six points to give the Lions a 22-11 advantage with 6:06 left in the first half.
• D'Youville put together a 7-0 rally to cut the deficit to four, 22-18, with under four minutes to play, propelled by shooting 75 percent from the field in that span.
• Freshman Iris Hoffman snapped the rally with a three-point shot of her own, Rizzitelli would drain two free throws, and junior Colleen McCullagh hit a jumper to close the half with the Lions ahead, 29-19.
• Four of Molloy's first six points of the second half came from senior Samantha Muller who helped extend the Lions lead to 13, 35-22, 2:45 into the third quarter.
• The cardinal and white kept firm control of the contest in the third stanza, holding its double-digit lead for nearly all 10 minutes, but a layup from D'Youville's Anna Jankovic cut the deficit to eight, 45-37, heading into the fourth quarter.
• The home team kicked off the final stanza quickly, rallying to a 7-0 run in the opening 1:30 to open its largest lead of the game, 52-37.
• The road team would not quit, responding with a 9-0 run, sparked by three, three-point field goals to shrink the deficit to six, 52-46, with 6:08 left to play.
• After Yearwood snapped the run with a jumper, Rizzitelli and Hipper sunk consecutive layups to reclaim the Lions double-digit lead, 58-48, with 2:14 left on the scoreboard.
• With under two minutes to go, Saints guard Aliviya Vallone Russell drained a three to keep D'Youville within striking distance, 58-51.
• Molloy would close the contest at the foul line, sinkling eight free throws to solidify the victory, 66-53.

Top Performances

• McCullagh led the Lions collected a team-high 12 points and eight rebounds.
• Rizzitelli totaled 11 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high three steals.
• Muller added 11 points while shooting five-of-six from the charity stripe. 

Up Next
The Lions will travel to Sparkill, N.Y. for a conference clash against St. Thomas Aquinas. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m.