RUTLAND, VT - In a battle of the top two teams in the Yankee Conference, both of which are ranked in the top five of the USCAA National Coaches Poll, the College of St. Joes jumped out to an early lead and thwarted several CM runs to pull away for an 80-65 victory. In this non-conference tilt, the 'big 3' of the Fighting Saints, Mookie Kennedy, Regina Steele, and Jazz Laracuente, combined for combined for 62 points.
Finding themselves with in an early whole, the Lady Mustangs cut a 14-point CSJ lead down to 3, but after three straight turnovers, CSJ answered with a run of their own going into halftime up 11. CM's pressure finally started wearing on the Fighting Saints, as they cut another 14-point lead down to 3 with 6-minutes to go in the game. The Lady Mustang ran out of gas, and CSJ used foul shots down the wire to pull away for the win.
Gabby Foy (Wilton, ME) led CM with 15 points, including three 3's. Lexi Larson (Milo, ME) and Laura Soohey (Bremen, ME) each tallied 12 points.
For CSJ, Steele led all scorers with 28 points to go along with her 20 rebounds, and although CM forced her into 10 turnovers, Laracuente still came away with 20 points. Kennedy, who only needed 13 points in the game to reach 1,000 career points, finished with 14.
CM is back in action Monday afternoon, when they wrap up their Vermont road trip against VTC at 4:00pm.