Late Rally Lifts Molloy past Queens

By Patrick McCormack

Freshman Jessica DeNicola scored 20 points, 16 in the second half, and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead visiting Molloy to a 69-62 victory over Queens at Fitzgerald Gymnasium on the campus of Queens College. Sophomore Ashley Addison added 19 points for Molloy which improved to 4-5 in ECC play. Amanda Bartlett scored a game-high 23 points to lead Queens. 

DeNicola was happy to get the victory. “It feels awesome to get a win,” DeNicola said. “This is a great confidence booster for us. We can only go up from here. We worked hard and played together. The key to the second half was having urgency and grabbing every single rebound. Also, the intensity and energy was picked up.”

Queens opened up a 46-35 lead in the second half when Caitlin Hopkins hit a three-pointer. The Knights shot 12-for-40 from three-point range. Molloy responded with a 15-2 run, led by six points by DeNicola, to take a 50-48 lead.

The lead changed hands a few times before DeNicola hit a jumper to give the Lions a 58-56. Senior Scarlett Demchak, who scored a season-high 10 points, hit five foul shots down the stretch to seal the win for the Lions.

It looked like the Knights would run away with the game when they took an early 30-17 lead, but the Lions closed the opening half on a 10-2 run to cut the lead to five points at the break.

Head coach Tim O’Hagan liked the offensive effort. “It’s great to get the win,” O’Hagan said. “They started running our offense the way they’re supposed to run it. We lost three in a row, but we played pretty well against STAC, and carried it into today.”

The Lions return to action Wednesday when they host Bridgeport.