Newburgh, NY (Jan. 25, 2017) – Led by junior forward Jessica Rini, the Mount Saint Mary College women's basketball team defeated visiting Purchase College, 84-35, Wednesday evening.  Rini netted a career-high 24 points and joined sophomore Kayla Cleare with a double-double in the Skyline Conference matchup.
 
After the score was tied at 2-2, the Knights' offense exploded and finished the opening quarter on a 20-1 run. The Mount went 10-for-17 from the floor in the first frame and Rini led six different scorers in the frame with six points.
 
Purchase scored 14 points in the second frame, but the Mount poured in 22 more points and shot just shy of 58-percent in the second quarter to carry a commanding 44-17 lead into halftime.

Mount Saint Mary continued the hot shooting after the break, outscoring Purchase 23-8 in the third frame and converting on 56.3-percent of its field goal chances. The Knights closed out the win with 17 points in the final frame.

Mount Saint Mary rounded out the win with a 50-8 edge in paint points and a commanding 21-4 advantage in offensive rebounds, leading to a 25-2 edge in second chance scoring in the win.

Rini finished her career night 12-for-15 from the floor and added 11 rebounds in 21 minutes for her fifth double-double of the season. Cleare recorded her team leading sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds against the Panthers.

For Purchase, junior huard Kayla Ortiz (Brooklyn, NY) and senior guard April Uhl (Jackson Heights, NY) combined for 24 of the Panthers' 35 points.  Ortiz led the team with 14 points and three assists.  Uhl finished with 10 points and two rebounds.  

Wednesday's win pushes Mount Saint Mary to 13-4 overall on the season and to 9-2 in Skyline Conference action. Purchase, now 2-14 overall and 1-10 in the league, is back in action at home on Saturday.  The Panthers will host USMMA in a Skyline game starting at 12 p.m.

-MSMC Sports Information contributed to this article