The eventful middle of December is upon us here in Westchester, and the perception of this stretch can vary depending how you look at it. For 99% of the University enrollment, this period is widely known as the final buckle-down of a long, draining semester. Assignments to get in, finals to cram for. It’s like that hell week your high school football team used to have with two-a-day practices in the sweltering July sun before the season. Just absolutely brutal.

But for the remaining 1%, which represent the two Mercy basketball teams, the middle of December is only the inception of their journeys to the playoffs. After playing for a month already, now is when these programs want to be hitting their stride heading into their back half of the campaign. The importance of this time of year cannot be overstated, but only demonstrated.

Welcome to The Roundup.

Next Stop: The Sunshine State

Scott Lagas got his team back on track on Wednesday night, defeating Staten Island, 60-51 at the Neil Judge Athlete Center. The victory is the Mavs’ seventh already of the season – and they haven’t even been playing for a month yet.

In commanding fashion, the Mavericks topped the Dolphins after dropping their conference opener to St. Thomas Aquinas last Saturday. Mercy hit the ground running out of the gate, exiting first quarter action with a 19-9 lead, and cruised their way to the final buzzer despite a late push from Staten Island in the final frame.

Katie Wall leads the East Region averaging 22 points per game, but it was her array of other abilities on the court that elevated her team against the Dolphins. The do-it-all guard was on the brink of a triple double, posting 11 points, 11 rebounds and a notable eight assists.

The eight helpers are a season-high for Wall, who’s been known primarily as a slashing scorer for her entire career. Wall has gotten situated quickly with her new supporting cast, and her 22 assists in her last four games reflects it.

Angelina Barrera was effective under the basket, posting 17 points and 10 rebounds. The sophomore helped put the game away in the final moment with a lay-up and two additional free throws. Maria Tedesco added 13 points of her own, which was a season-high for the senior.

Mercy then hit the road to the nation’s capital to challenge first place UDC, losing a tough 82-68 battle. Despite 40 combined points from Katie Wall and Jaclyn Stanavich, it wasn’t enough to hand the Firebirds (10-0) their first loss of the year.

Second quarter woes plagued the team’s early momentum, as the Mavericks squandered a 21-15 lead after being outscored 20-8 in the following frame. The team shot an underwhelming 14% from the field and 0-4 from three point range, and the hole grew insurmountable in the second half.

The Mavs fell to 1-2 in conference action, which they won’t get another chance to improve until mid January, but will still look to build on the performance before packing their bags for Florida.

Next up for this squad are back to back contests in The Sunshine State against St. Leo on Friday and Columbus State on Saturday.

Mavericks Overmatched Again

The snowball continued its steam down the mountain this week, as men’s hoops extended their losing streak to 10 games with losses to Staten Island, 81-61 and UDC, 76-60. 

Mercy was outmatched from the opening tip against the Dolphins on Wednesday. Their 19 point deficit at halftime exhibited that. Staten Island was unconscious from distance, shooting an astounding 41% from field goal territory, while also controlling underneath the basket with a 47-38 edge in rebounds.

It’s a difficult formula for success against a reputable Staten Island team, who is 6-3 on the season and 3-0 in conference play after the victory. There’s still a sizable gap between the Mavericks and the rest of the field in the ECC, making it a growing necessity for the younger players on the roster to earn playing experience to try and close it next year.

Jayden Dewaal led the team again with a 10 point, 10 rebound double-double as four other Mavs scored double digit points. 

Their second contest of the week against UDC played out in similar fashion. Mercy started much slower than their opponent for a consecutive game, finding themselves in a 16 point hole at the break. The Mavericks responded with a neck-and-neck second half with the Firebirds, matching their 37-37 output, but their sluggish beginning was too insurmountable to overcome.

Alex May erupted for 19 points in the loss, which was his second largest output of the season. Taj Chiles contributed 16 points of his own, snapping his three game skid of under 10 points. The talent on this squad shows flashes in spotty moments, and if Chris Watts can piece it all together for a 60 minute battle, there’s no reason why they can’t find the win column.

A long-awaited break is on tap for the Mavericks as they don’t play another game until after Christmas. It’ll be good for these players to reset mentally before heading into the heat of January basketball.