1/10/2007 - (Newburgh, NY) - It has been well documented that the Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team has made up considerable ground on the rest of the Skyline Conference during the early part of the 2006-07 season. Wins over Manhattanville and Centenary, followed by an overtime loss to Farmingdale State and a loss to USMMA-Kings Point that went to the final seconds proved that the Dolphins are a contender in the Conference despite boasting a roster consisting of mainly freshman. But in Skyline Conference Women's Basketball, there is a major difference between competing with "the rest" and defeating "the best" as it is impossible to be considered a contender without at least competing with Mount Saint Mary. The seven-time defending Skyline Conference Champions have defeated the Mount by an average of 31.6 points during eight meetings over the last four years, and on Wednesday night, the Dolphins traveled to Mount Saint Mary for their first meeting of the 2006-07 season. 40 minutes later two things were clear: Mount Saint Mary is still the very best the Skyline Conference has to offer, but Mount Saint Vincent is right there with them.

Junior Kaitlin Burud scored 19 points on 8 for 11 shooting, but the Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team lost its third straight game 69-60 to seven-time defending Skyline Conference champion Mount Saint Mary on Wednesday night during a game played at Mount Saint Mary. The 5-5 Dolphins will look to return to their winning ways on Saturday when they host Saint Elizabeth at 1:00 p.m.

Junior Kaitlin Burud (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook HS) scored 19 points on 8 for 11 shooting, and freshman Karissa Koerner (Bay Shore, NY/Brentwood HS) added 12 points and seven rebounds, and the Dolphins hung tough with Mount Saint Mary throughout the game, but lost 69-60 for their third straight defeat to open 2007. With the loss, Mount Saint Vincent is now 5-5 overall and 2-3 in Skyline Conference play.

Mount Saint Mary (8-3, 3-1 Skyline Conference) tried to pull away early and led by as many as 12 early in the first half, but Burud and the Dolphins battled back throughout the opening 20 minutes. Down 24-12, a 10-4 Mount Saint Vincent run made it 28-22 with 7:37 remaining in the first half. Late in the half, the Mount went on a 9-1 run and when Ashley Farrow (Ocean, NJ/Ocean Township HS) sunk two free throws with 1:44 remaining in the first half, Mount Saint Vincent trailed 33-31. The Dolphins would trail by only three at halftime, marking the closest first half in the history of the Mount Saint Mary-Mount Saint Vincent rivalry.

Burud opened the second half with a jumper that made it 34-33 Blue Knights, but that was as close as the Dolphins would get. A 15-5 run by Mount Saint Mary made it 58-45 with 6:36 remaining. Mount Saint Vincent would battle back again to bring the score within seven points when Koerner hit a three-pointer with 3:08 to play, but Mount Saint Mary held on for the win.

Despite the Mount's third straight loss, the story within the game was encouraging. Mount Saint Mary's usually dominant effort on the boards did not exist as the Blue Knights held a slight 36-35 rebounding advantage. Mount Saint Mary did force 23 Dolphin turnovers, but they also committed 18 of their own, and aside from a shooting advantage that saw Mount Saint Mary convert 42% of their shots while the Dolphins shot 40% from the floor, the game was a statistical wash despite the fact that the Blue Knights did not start a single freshman while Mount Saint Vincent had four freshmen in Wednesday's starting line-up.

For Mount Saint Vincent, aside from Burud and Koerner having a big night, freshman Lauren Percodani (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea) scored nine points and added six assists, while fellow freshman Courtney Heesemann (New Hyde Park, NY/New Hyde Park HS) added eight points and nine rebounds, along with three steals.

Up next for Mount Saint Vincent is a battle of the undefeateds in Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC) play when they host Saint Elizabeth on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.