Hot Dolphins’ win streak now at five straight

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Something had to give last Saturday afternoon when the Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins, the Skyline Conference’s highest scoring offense, took on the Merchant Marine Mariners, number one in scoring defense.

 While the Mariners continued their stellar defensive play, it was not enough to slow down the red-hot Dolphins, who cruised to a 62-51 victory behind 18 forced turnovers and a superb defensive performance of their own. With the win, the Dolphins extend their winning streak to five straight and are winners of eight of their last nine games overall.

For Mount head coach Laura Pruitt, the Dolphins’ unselfishness has been the key during the team’s streak.

 “We’re not only making the extra pass, but we’re also knocking shots down when we’re open,” Pruitt said. “I think it’s really the team is just starting to really trust each other with the ball, and nobody is trying to do it by themselves.”

The Dolphins currently lead all Division III schools in assists, and against Merchant Marine they notched 15 assists on 25 made field goals.

 “We’re not playing selfish,” said Brittany Carroll, who scored 10 points in the win. “Whoever is open is getting the shot.”

 The 15 assists against the Mariners were well below the 19 assists the Dolphins average per game, but the Mariners made it tough on offense for the Dolphins. The Mariners came into the game in seventh place among all Division III schools in lowest scoring defenses, and held the Dolphins to 40 percent, shooting from the field with 15 turnovers.

But the Dolphins were led by Christina Barone, who filled up the stat sheet with 15 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists.

 “I think this was a big win, because we lost to some teams we should of probably beat, and we were low in the standings,” Barone said, “And this is like a big pick up for us.”

 The Dolphins were also able to win the rebound battle, which coming into the game looked like it would be hard to do. Merchant Marine entered the contest third among Division III schools with 52.9 rebounds per game. However, the Dolphins won the battle on the glass, 44-40, led by Dez Brown’s nine boards.

 “Going in they averaged 10 more rebounds than us and we knew that,” Barone said. “We knew they were a solid, big team, so we just knew that we had to box out or else we were going to lose. Everyone put a body on a girl and it was just grab the rebound.”

 The first half belonged entirely to the Dolphins, who led from start to finish. The Dolphins forced 13 first half turnovers and held the Mariners to 39 percent shooting from the floor. With the Dolphins up, 21-11, the Mariners were forced to call a timeout, which they used to rebound and go on a 7-1 run that cut the deficit to four. However, that was the closest the Mariners would get in the first half as the Dolphins ended the half on a 16-6 run to lead 40-26 at halftime.

 The Dolphins continued to force the Mariners into turnovers in the third quarter and after a Kristen Merrell 3-pointer with the score 46-30, the Dolphins went up by 19 for their largest lead of the game. But the Mariners slowly cut into the lead and after a layup by Taylor Hightower, trailed by 12 points heading into the fourth quarter. The Mariners cut the deficit to as little as 11 in the fourth quarter, but the Dolphins maintained their lead and held on for the victory.

 “We stayed together even when they hit some tough shots,” Carroll said.

 The Dolphins, who played four games in seven days, will have three days to rest before they travel to face Purchase on the road Wednesday night. The Dolphins are tied for second place in the Skyline Conference, and despite their hot streak, Pruitt sees room for improvement.

“Overall, am I happy we won? Of course I am,” Pruitt said. “But I think that we definitely have some things that we have to tighten up in terms of being consistent over the course of not only the 40 minutes of play, but within each possession and break it down that way.”

Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins, Christina Barone, Brittany Carroll, Laura Pruitt, Daniel Ynfante

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