2/19/2006 - (Brooklyn, NY) – It wasn’t the silence on the Mount Saint Vincent bench that measured the magnitude of the loss, nor was it the long faces or the tears. The sadness on Sunday afternoon was not because it was St. Joseph’s (Brooklyn) celebrating the Hudson Valley Women’s Athletic Conference (HVWAC) Tournament Championship, and not the Mount as had happened a year ago. Sunday’s 71-59 defeat was crushing for one reason and one reason only … Mount Saint Vincent spent a majority of the game performing as the better team. But as it has happened on six other occasions during the 2005-06 campaign, an explosive start to the game that included a halftime lead turned into disaster down the stretch, as St. Joseph’s outscored the Dolphins 20-9 during the final 8:49 of play, and the Bears walked away with the HVWAC Tournament crown, 71-59.

Sophomore Kaitlin Burud scored 13 points and played an outstanding defensive game before fouling out with 8:49 remaining in the second half. From there, St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) went on an 11-0 run and outscored Mount Saint Vincent 20-9 the rest of the game, and captured the HVWAC Tournament Championship, 71-59 on Sunday afternoon at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Mount Saint Vincent returns to action on Monday night when they host Centenary in a Skyline Conference play-in game at 7:00 p.m.

The loss drops Mount Saint Vincent to 8-16, but amazingly, 17 times this season the Dolphins have either led, been tied, or trailed by 10 points or less at halftime. Sunday was no different as a hot half from the free throw line and tenacious defense across the board allowed the Dolphins a 33-32 advantage after 20 minutes. The Mount led by as many as seven points during the first half of play. Mount Saint Vincent shot an incredible 19 for 22 from the free throw line during the first half, and their defense forced 15 turnovers during that stretch.

The second half was a tale of two halves within it as both teams went toe-to-toe, and neither team led by more than five points, for the first 10 minutes of the second stanza. However, at that point, foul trouble set in for the Dolphins. With the Mount trailing 51-50 with 8:49 remaining in the game, sophomore Kaitlin Burud (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook HS) fouled out of the game after she scored 13 points on 4 for 6 shooting, and did an incredible job on the defensive end, making St. Joseph’s superstar guard Michelle Softy (Brooklyn, NY/Christ the King) a virtual non-factor. After Burud departed, the energy level seemed to shift as the Bears (18-10) went on the attack. Softy – the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player – scored 16 of her game-high 26 points after Burud fouled out of the game.

With Burud out of the game, St. Joseph’s immediately went on an 11-0 run to blow the game wide open. Then things completely unraveled for the Mount. Senior Andrea DiNizo (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Masters) – last year’s HVWAC Tournament MVP – played brilliantly, scoring a team-high 21 points, but fouled out, as did Lauren DeRosa (Hawthorne, NY/Westlake HS), who led the Mount with 11 rebounds on Sunday. After the foul-outs, the Dolphins closed the game with only five players eligible for action.

Aside from Burud, DiNizo, and DeRosa’s fine play, senior Laura Bucci (Irvington, NY/Our Lady of Victory) chipped in 12 points and a team-high four assists. Overall, Mount Saint Vincent outrebounded St. Joseph’s, 39-37, and committed only one more turnover than the Bears, but St. Joseph’s outshot the Mount, 44% - 29%, and the Bears attempted 23 second half free throws, while the Dolphins were at the free throw line only six times during the final 20 minutes.

The loss does not end the Mount Saint Vincent season as the Dolphins return to action on Monday, Feb. 20 when they host Centenary College in a play-in game for the Skyline Conference playoff tournament. The game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m.