BUFFALO – The D'Youville University women's basketball team dropped a nailbiter to Mercy University on Friday by a score of 70-65.
 
Anna Jankovic (Averill Park, N.Y.) was the leading scorer for the Saints with 17 points while also recording seven rebounds and two steals. Isabella Kostyal-Larrier (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and added seven points. Stella Mollica (Shillington, Pa.) dished out a team-high seven assists and grabbed seven rebounds. Jaelyn Vleer-Elliott (Waterville, N.Y.) and Brianne Moxley (Penfield, N.Y.) each turned in double-digit scoring performances with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
After the Mavericks got out to a 6-0 lead, Jankovic converted a layup to get the Saints on the board. A three-pointer from Sofie Fuglsang (Oberanven, Luxembourg) brought DYU within one with 5:35 left in the first quarter. A 10-0 run by the Mavericks put them ahead by eleven, but a three-point play from Mollica, Fuglsang's second three-pointer, and a layup from Jankovic cut Mercy's lead to five as the quarter came to a close.
 
Jankovic drained a three-pointer to begin the second quarter and shrink Mercy's lead to 18-16. With 5:52 remaining in the quarter, Jankovic converted a three-point play to make it 22-19 Mercy. An ensuing 9-2 run from the Mavericks gave them a ten-point lead with three minutes until halftime. A seven-footer from Morgan Giancaterino (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and a layup from Kostyal-Larrier sent the Saints to halftime trailing by nine.
 
A close-range jumper from Kostyal-Larrier and a three-pointer from Moxley cut Mercy's lead to six in the early going of the third quarter. However, the Mavericks scored seven straight to extend their lead to thirteen. The Saints stormed back to score eleven straight points, in which Jankovic scored seven points and Vleer-Elliott scored four over the course of the run, and DYU trailed by only four as the game moved to the fourth quarter.
 
Moxley converted a layup and Kostyal-Larrier poured in a three-pointer to make it 52-50 Mercy at the 7:46 mark. Back-to-back layups from Mercy Lasu (Innisfil, Canada) and Giancaterino gave the Saints their first lead of the day with 6:49 to go. Mercy surged back ahead with nine straight points to go up 62-54 with just over three minutes remaining. Fuglsang drained a three to cut the lead to four with 49 seconds remaining. Next possession, Moxley dropped in a three of her own to cut it to three with 35 seconds to go. That's the closest the Saints would get, though, and Mercy closed out the game with free throws.
 
D'Youville will look to bounce back on Sunday, when they face St. Thomas Aquinas College at College Center at 1:00 p.m.