12/11/2006 - (Riverdale, NY) - Down 26-17 with 6:17 remaining in the first half of Wednesday night's Women's Basketball game against Centenary, Mount Saint Vincent Head Coach Ed Ryder could have easily accepted a loss against Skyline Conference rival Centenary and chalked it up to inexperience. After all, with a starting line-up consisting of three freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior, this is a team just not yet accustomed to the intensity and parity of Skyline Conference Basketball, and Centenary entered the game the hottest team in the Conference, having begun the season 4-0. However, instead of calling it a night or accepting anything less than a victory, Ryder turned to his talented young group and challenged them to win the game, and the relative neohphytes came through. And while the game - and an exciting week of basketball for the Mount - featured heroic efforts from several freshmen, one in particular stepped forward to take over, and as a result, freshman Karissa Koerner (Bay Shore, NY/Brentwood HS) was named Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week for the first time.

Freshman Karissa Koerner was named the Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week this week after averaging 19.5 points, four rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game during a 1-1 stretch for the Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team. The Dolphins are currently 4-2 heading into their game at Yeshiva on Dec. 19.

Koerner's inspired play led the Mount to a valiant comeback against the Cyclones. With the Dolphins down by nine points on Wednesday, she connected on a three-pointer to make it 26-20. After stealing a long Centenary in-bounds pass on the ensuing play, Koerner pulled up and hit a second three-pointer during a nine-second span to make it 26-23. At the time Korner did not realize it, but her inspired play led the Mount on a 20-4 run over a five-minute span, and the Dolphins led 38-32 at halftime en route to an 82-74 win. For the game, the freshman scored a game-high and career-high 21 points, while adding three rebounds and four steals.

Three days later, the Dolphins took to the court for a showdown with 2006 Skyline Conference semifinalist Farmingdale State for a game that could emerge as the most exciting contest of the season conference-wide. Koerner was stellar once again, scoring 18 points while adding five rebounds as the Mount opened up an eight-point lead late in the first half. Farmingdale, however, staged a dramatic last-second comeback to force overtime and prevailed in the extra session, 86-78.

For the week, Koerner averaged 19.5 points, four rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game to win Rookie of the Week, and for the 2006-07 season is second on the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game and is also averaging a solid 4.7 rebounds per game.

Mount Saint Vincent is currently 4-2 overall and 2-1 in Skyline Conference play, and will take to the court one more time prior to the holiday break when they travel to Yeshiva on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 8:30 p.m.