Box Score
MANSFIELD, Pa. - The D'Youville women's basketball team opened up their 2021-22 campaign Saturday afternoon, taking down Mansfield, 50-39, to move to 1-0 on the season. The victory marks career win No. 1 for interim head coach Payce Lange in her first game in charge of the D'Youville bench.
The Saints' defense turned in a big performance, holding the Mountaineers to 24.6% from the field and forcing 13 steals on 23 Mansfield turnovers.
The Saints edged the Mountaineers in the first half after shooting 39% from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Sophomore guard Sara Pfeiffer scored D'Youville's first points of the season on a layup assisted by freshman guard Stella Mollica. After another Pfeiffer layup, junior forward Riley Riedel cashed in on a three-pointer from the top of the key to give the Saints an early 9-4 advantage.
After the Mountaineers cut the D'Youville lead down two points in the second quarter, the Saints responded with six unanswered points to close out the first half. Mollica beat the halftime buzzer, evading her defender with a hesitation move before finger rolling her layup to give the Saints a 25-19 lead going into the break.
Riedel led the Saints in the first half with nine points, freshman guard Anna Jankovic collected a team-high six rebounds as Pfeiffer dished out three assists. Mansfield relied on the three-ball in the first half, shooting 33% from behind the arc to stay within arm's length of D'Youville.
The Saints, who led for the entirety of the season opener, created their largest lead of the game at 37-24 when Riedel hit a jumper on an assist from Mollica. It was Riedel's second bucket in as many tries after she grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back for a layup on the previous possession.
In the fourth, the Saints' defense never let the Mountaineers get any closer than eight points as Mansfield was held to nine points on 2-11 shooting in the final 10 minutes.
Pfeiffer led all scorers with 17 points (4-12 FG) … Riedel (7-15 FG) and Mollica (5-12 FG) also eclipsed double figures with 15 and 10 points respectively … Jankovic finished with a game-high 11 rebounds as D'Youville edged the Mountaineers on the glass, 46-42.
Saturday's win is the first season-opening victory for D'Youville since the 2019-20 campaign when they defeated Wells, 80-35, back on Nov. 9, 2019.
The Saints will take on Bryant & Stratton-Buffalo in the Buffalo State Tournament on Friday, Nov. 19. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. from the campus of Buffalo State.
