Bartlett Leads Lions Over Knights

Led by graduate guard Amanda Bartlett's 29 points, the Molloy lions defeated the Queens Knights, 79-61 in an ECC battle at Fitzgerald Gymnasium on the campus of Queens College.

Bartlett , who transferred to Molloy from Queens after last season, was happy to have a huge game against her former team. "It felt good to come back and beat my old team," Bartlett said. " I still have a lot of friends on the team and I just looked past it and treated them like anyone else. I felt very anxious going into the game because I've been waiting for this game for months."

Coach Tim O'Hagan was happy with Bartlett's play, "Amanda was sensational tonight. It was important for her to have a big night at her old school. She worked really hard the whole game."

Molly got off to a early 8-2 lead to start the game. But the Knight would respond with a 10-4 run to knot the game up at 12. With the Knights up 18-14,  Molloy went on a 14-1 run, lead by  seven points from Bartlett, to go up 28-19. With the score at 28-23 Molloy was able to go on a 10-0 run. This run was lead by five points from Bartlett, to go up 38-23. Red-shirt junior Laura Rivera was able to lay the ball in with four seconds  to give Molloy a 40-26 lead at the half.

The Lions were able to open up the half on a 13-2 run. This run was sparked five points by Bartlett and four points by red-shirt junior  Molly Dreyer . This gave the Lions their biggest lead of the game;  53-28. But Queens came roaring back with a 10-0 run of their own to cut the Lions lead to 15,53-38. with the score 57-38, Queens went on an 8-0 run to cut the Lions lead to 11, 57-46. Later in the half,  Queens cut the lead to five on an 11-2 run which made the score 62-57. But that was as close as Queens would cut it. The Lions out scored Queens 17-4 to close out the game and to lock up their third straight victory.

Coach O'Hagan liked the way his team shaped up to put away the game. "When we were up five  we really just had to stop being lazy on defense. We put them on the line way too much. I thought we showed a lot of character by scoring I believe on 5 possessions in a row to seal it," O'Hagan said. "Winning three in a row is nice I think we are in a better flow on offense and defense. I thought it was important to get our second league win."

Late Second Half Run Lifts Lions Past Mavericks

By Patrick McCormack 





Amanda Bartlett and Jessica DeNicola each scored 20 points, and DeNicola added 10 rebounds to lead Molloy to a 70-55 win over Mercy Mavericks in the East Coast Conference opener at Quealy Gymnasium on the campus of Molloy College. Junior guard Ashley Addison added 12 points for the Lions.


Head coach Tim O’Hagan knows how important it is to win the first game of conference play. “It’s very important to get a win to open up league play, especially against a much improved team in Mercy,” O’Hagan said. “On any given night, any team in our league can beat you. So the games that are in your building you have to take care of.”


Molloy trailed 26-22 with 2:31 left in the opening half, but the Lions finished the half on a 7-0 run to end the half up three as 29-26. Bartlett and  junior Laura Rivera were in foul trouble in the opening half, but freshman guard Meghan Orlando came off the bench to run the offense.


Coach O’Hagan thought Orlando’s play was huge. “I thought we got tremendous minutes from our freshman point guard Megan Orlando,” O’Hagan said. “We really didn't miss a beat with her on the floor. She continues to grow every day. Again, we have to credit Mercy for being a scrappy defensive team. We had called a timeout and we said that we were not going to take any more jump shots for the rest of the half. We put an emphasis on getting to the basket and getting on the foul line. I think really the difference was we knocked down some shots finally and we were able to open the game up.”


Orlando, who scored her first college basket, knew she had a job to do.  “When Laura got her third foul and coach put me in at the end of the first half, I knew I had to keep the game going and not have any let down,” Orlando said. “It feels great to get our first league win, and even better that I was a part of it. I hope we keep this pace going.”


The Mavericks went on an 8-3 run early on in the second half to tie the game at 38. But, with the game tied at 42, Molloy went on a 10-2 run of its own, which was sparked by threes from Bartlett and Addison, to go up 52-44. The Lions closed the game out on an 18-7 run.  


Bartlett sees the progress that the Lions are making as the season goes on. “Everyone is getting more confident and we are learning to play with each other which is helping offensively,” Bartlett said. “Most of our subs were in when we went on a run at the end of the half which shows how important each and every person is on our team. We need to keep up our defensive intensity and continue to work on our offensive flow and we will be unstoppable.”


With the win the Lions improve to 5-4, 1-0 in ECC play. Molloy will go on the road to take on Queens College on Sunday, December 11. The Mavericks fell to 0-7.

Lions Soar Past Eagles

Amanda Bartlett scored 25 points and Jessica DeNicola added 18 as Molloy snapped a three-game losing streak with a 82-71 win over Post at The Drubner Center on the campus of Post University in Waterbury. Connecticut.

Bartlett, a graduate student, knows breaking the streak was essential. "It was a win we definitely needed to get our confidence back," Bartlett said. "We still have things to work on, but a win is a win. We went into the game with a different mindset, trying to work the ball for better shots. We need to pick up our intensity on defense to continue winning, especially with conference games coming up."

The Eagles got off to a fast start, and held their biggest lead of the game at 25-16 when junior guard Casey Brooks knocked down a triple. But, back came Molloy (4-4). Trailing 33-26, with just over five minutes left in the half, the Lions went on a 15-3 run, led by eight points from Bartlett, who had 18 points in the first half, to give Molloy a 41-36 lead at the half.

The Lions opened up their first double-digit lead at 47-36 on a lay up but DeNicola. The sophomore forward had a solid performance in the paint.

"In order to continue to be successful in the post we have to keep working hard to establish position and really just finish our shots," DiNicola said. "When we work the ball inside it opens up the outside. Coach always says to play inside out, since it will open up the outside especially when they double down in the post."

The lead was increased to 57-42 , when Laura Rivera laid the ball in. Later in the half, junior Julia Finley knocked down a three to give the Lions their biggest lead of the game at 72-55. Junior Molly Dreyer added 10 points and 12 rebounds, for the Lions.

The Lions return to Quealy Gymnasium next Wednesday when they open East Coast Conference play against Mercy.