LIons Run Past Clippers

Senior Amanda Bartlett’s 28 points, which led all scorers, led the Molloy Lions to a 79-54 victory over the Concordia Clippers at Quealy Gymnasium on the campus of Molloy College.

 Bartlett, who transferred to Molloy after playing her first three seasons at Queens College, has had a huge impact on the team, leading the Lions in scoring in three of their first four games. “I knew my role coming to Molloy and I just try to play my role to the best of my ability every game. I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win,” Bartlett said, “If we want to keep winning we need to work on numerous things especially with two games this weekend against NE10 schools. There are a lot of new players this year and the more comfortable we get playing with each other the better we will be.”

The Lions started the game on a 13-3 run led by a pair of threes from Bartlett and one from  junior guard Ashley Addison. Later in the half with the Lions up eight, 24-16, the Lions  went on a 14-0 run, to go up 38-16. And at the half the Lions led 40-22.

In the first half the Lions outscored Concordia 19-1 on points off turnovers.

In the second half, the Clippers were able to trim the Molloy lead to nine, 46-37, when they went on a 15-4 run. But that was as close as they would get as Molloy pulled away to secure the victory.

Red-shirt junior Laura Rivera added 11 point and seven assists for the Lions.With the win the Lions improve to 3-1.

Lions Rout Griffins In Home Opener

By Patrick McCormack

Freshman forward Nicole Arnone's first career double-double, 15 points and 12 rebounds, led Molloy to a 65-43 rout of Chestnut Hill in the Lions season opener at Quealy Gymnasium. Sophomore Jessica Denicola added 18 points for the Lions in the victory. The Griffins got a team-high 10 points from Lindsay Alexander.

Coach Tim O’Hagan was happy with the way his forwards performed in the win. “I thought it showed how deep we are as a team,” O’Hagan said. “When we brought Nicole in we knew what we were getting. She has a tremendous motor and as you saw tonight can knock down the three. It was just a matter of time for Jess to break out. The last two games she got in a lot of foul trouble so it was nice to get her going.”

Molloy pulled away early in the first half thanks to a 13-2 run sparked by a pair of three-pointers from Arnone, and one from junior guard Laura Rivera that gave Molloy a 21-10 lead. After Chestnut Hill cut into the lead on a lay up from Alexander, the Lions ended the half on a 12-4 run to take a commanding 33-16 lead at the break.

Arnone and Denicola both chipped in six points early on in the second half as Molloy broke the game wide open, taking a 52-22 lead. The Griffins never challenged.  

Denicola was glad she could contribute to her team's victory. "It feels really great. This was a big win for us as a team. Everyone came out ready to play tonight and we played together. Our defense was solid and everyone really stepped up on offense. the energy and intensity was there the entire game," Denicola said.

With the win the Lions improve to 2-1. Molloy will take on Concordia on November 16.

Lions Take Down Warriors in Season Opener

BY Patrick McCormack

Graduate student Amanda Bartlett  scored 21 points to lead Molloy to a 63-51 victory in the season opener at Hammel Court on the campus of Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts . Junior Molly Dreyer, who missed all of last season with an injury, added 10 points for the Lions.

Dyeyer was happy to be able to contribute. "It felt amazing to be back playing again, and I couldn't have been happier about the win," Dreyer said. "It’s a great way to start off the season, especially against a good NE10 team.”

The Warriors held a narrow 12-11 lead early in the first half, but then they went on an 11-3 run to take a nine-point lead with just under nine minutes left in the half. However, Molloy would answer with a 21-3 run of their own to go to the break with a 35-26 lead. Bartlett scored 11 points during the scoring spree.

Bartlett, who was making her Molloy debut on Saturday, was happy with the way her team fought back. "Getting this first win was big for our team. It was against a Northeast conference team and set our season out on the right foot,” Bartlett said. “We never lost our composure after going down nine midway through the first half. We picked up our defensive intensity, which led to more offensive opportunities. We started attacking the rim more aggressively rather than settling for the outside shot.”

Merrimack, which got 10 points and 16 rebounds from a Kelly Schatzlein , was  able to cut the Molloy lead to seven in the second half, but the Warriors got no closer.

Head Coach Tim O'Hagan liked the way his team played against the NE10 opponent. "It's a good start of the season against a very formidable opponent in Merrimack," O'Hagan said. "We did not get off to a great start, what changed was we started to get into a flow on offense. We ran better sets and were able to get to the basket, and eventually the foul line."

The Lions will host Concordia on Wednesday, November 16 at 7:00pm. 

Additions of Finlay and Bartlett Add Veteran Leadership to the Lions Back Court

During the offseason, the Molloy Lions gained two value transfer players who will bring veteran leadership to the team. The Lions added senior guard Amanda Bartlett from Queens College and junior guard Julia Finlay from UNC-Wilmington.

At Queen College last year, Bartlett averaged 20.1 points per game, about 10 points higher  than Molloy's leading scorer last season Ashley Addison; in addition, Bartlett was named All-ECC each of her three season with Knights. 

Bartlett cites several reasons for coming to Molloy “Academically, it is an awesome school, coach O'Hagan is a great coach, I knew some of the girls on the team already and knew we would be a contender to go far this year," Bartlett said.

She is confident that the Lions, who finished 8-21 despite winning the ECC Title the season before, will return to the top of the conference. “This year our goal is not only to win conference but also go far into the NCAA tournament. Honestly, I think we our team is very talented and deep and know we will go far this year."Bartlett said.

Finlay played her first two seasons for the UNC-Wilmington; with the Seahawks she averaged 2.2 points in her first two seasons with the team.

Finlay, like Bartlett, sees playing the Lions as a great opportunity."I picked Molloy because I loved the people. From the coaches to the girls on the team everyone was so genuinely nice and welcoming." Finlay said, “After watching their practice during my first visit, I knew I wanted to come here. The practice was very competitive but at the same time as much as the girls were competitors they were also teammates supporting each other all the time through."

Finlay is also optimistic about the Lions upcoming season. "We are looking for nothing less than a championship and post-season play. We have the talent, experience and hunger to do it," Finlay said.

Coach Tim O'Hagan is excited about the incoming talent.”The two of them bring experience in our back court and a ton of leadership," O'Hagan said. “And with Bartlett we have a closer again meaning at the end of games we have a kid who we know is going to get the ball and give us a great chance to close out games."

Bartlett and Finlay make their Lions debut on November 12th when the Lions  travel to Merrimack.