2/18/2007 - (Brooklyn, NY) - They've been a Cinderella Story all season long ... a feel good season during which a young team with modest expectations has overcome every challenge sent their way. Picked to finish near the bottom of the Skyline Conference standings, they ended the 2006-07 season with a 9-7 conference record and earned the #4 seed in the Skyline playoffs and a post-season home game. In Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC) play, they were expected to finish behind a St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) team that returned a lot of experience and talent from a squad that won the conference a year ago. During a string of wins and outstanding play, the Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team has not only met their expectations for the season, they surpassed every single one of them, and seemed to be living a charmed life as a team without a senior on the roster that developed into a powerhouse almost overnight. But on Sunday evening, during the HVWAC Championship Game at the Pratt Institute, it all almost came crashing down. After blowing a 14-point second half lead to #3 Saint Elizabeth and seeing the score tied with mere minutes to play, Mount Saint Vincent proved to have the meddle of a champion once again, and what could have easily become their lowest point of the season became their finest moment. And with a 59-54 win, Mount Saint Vincent captured their second HVWAC Tournament Championship during a three-year span, and swept the HVWAC season for the first time since long before a single member of the team even thought of coming to play at Mount Saint Vincent.

The day began well enough for the Mount (16-9) as the Dolphins used a 9-0 run to turn a 7-7 game into a 16-7 lead halfway through the first half. The lead extended as far as 27-13 with 4:44 to play in the opening half, and Mount Saint Vincent led 32-21 at halftime. Two minutes into the second half, the edge was back to 14 points, and it appeared as if the Dolphins would cruise to the HVWAC tournament title the same way they did the regular season crown, after winning all five conference games by an average margin of 31.25 points per game, including a 70-53 win over CSE on Jan. 13.

The Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team captured their second HVWAC Tournament Championship during the last three years with a thrilling 59-54 win over third-seeded College of Saint Elizabeth on Sunday evening. Mount Saint Vincent is now 16-9 heading into Tuesday's Skyline Conference Quarterfinal game with USMMA-Kings Point. The game will be played at 7:00 p.m. at Mount Saint Vincent.

However, all hopes of an easy run to the championship ended quickly as Saint Elizabeth refused to go down quietly, and Mount Saint Vincent was left on their heels for the rest of the game. An 11-2 Eagle run made it 46-45 Mount Saint Vincent with 8:09 to play. Mount Saint Vincent extended the lead back to  52-47 with 5:11 to play, but Saint Elizabeth scored the next five points to tie the score for the first time with 3:30 remaining in the game. And when it seemed like the Eagles were going to pull off one of the biggest upsets in the history of their program, the vaunted Mount Saint Vincent freshman class took over and led the Dolphins to a championship.

With the score tied, freshman Courtney Heesemann (New Hyde Park, NY/New Hyde Park HS) hit a lay-up with 3:00 left in the game to break the tie, and 30 second later she made it a 56-52 lead after converting a jump shot after a CSE turnover. CSE made it 56-54 with 1:06 to play, setting up a wild final minute. With the Mount clinging to the lead, a CSE foul with seven seconds remaining in the game put Dolphin freshman Lauren Percodani (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea) at the free throw line. Percodani converted the first attempt, but missed the second one, however, Heesemann grabbed the rebound to give the Mount the ball. As the time wound down, freshman Karissa Koerner (Bay Shore, NY/Brentwood HS) was fouled, and she converted both free throws with one second to play to give the Mount the five-point win.

Heesemann was outstanding, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and eight of her points and seven of her rebounds came during the second half of play. But it was Percodani's composure under pressure that kept the Mount from losing their grip on the game as she earned Tournament MVP honors. The rookie point guard scored 14 points (on 4 for 6 shooting) and added five rebounds and six assists during an exceptional all-around game. Percodani's MVP weekend came after she averaged 13.5 points, six assists, four rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game and led the Mount to both wins. She shot an incredible 68% from the floor, and committed only six turnovers all weekend long despite enormous pressure, particularly on Sunday.

Koerner was also outstanding on Sunday as she followed up a 19-point performance on Saturday evening with a 13-point effort on Sunday. Overall, Mount Saint Vincent suffered one of their worst shooting games of the year, converting only 29% of their field goal attempts, while CSE shot 44% from the floor, including a 53% effort during the final 20 minutes. However, Mount Saint Vincent grabbed 43 rebounds while CSE grabbed 39, and the Dolphins forced 32 Eagle turnovers while committing only 23, giving the Mount the edge to claim the HVWAC Tournament Championship.

Mount Saint Vincent is not finished with the 2006-07 season as the return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 20 when they host #5 USMMA-Kings Point for the Quarterfinal Round of the Skyline Conference playoffs at 7:00 p.m.