Flushing, N.Y. - The Queens College women's basketball team used a strong first half and some timely defense to hold off Mercy College, 73-63, in a game played at Fitzgerald Gym on Saturday.  With the victory, the Knights improve to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in East Coast Conference play.

Queens scored the first five points of the contest on a three-pointer from Joya McFarland and a pair of foul shots from MacKenzie Rowland.  After a Mavericks' bucket, Imani Davidson sunk two free throws and Kristen Korzevinski made a layup and the Knights led, 9-2.  Late in the first half, Korzevinski found Davidson for three and QC was up, 28-12.  A pair of Janeen McFarlane freebies with 0:10 remaining gave the team its largest lead of the half, 17 points, as the two shots made the score 35-18 for the Knights.  They led at the half, 35-20.  In the first 20 minutes, QC held the Mavericks at 12 points from the 10:05 mark to the 2:38 mark, a scoreless drought of 8:27.

The second half saw Queens push the lead to an insurmountable, 23-points, when Madison Rowland found Korzevinski for a fast-break layup at 14:22 which put Queen ahead, 50-27.  Mercy  fought back from there and got the deficit down to nine, but an Imani Davidson foul shot in the closing seconds sealed the 73-63 win.

The Knights used an unusual lineup in the game and received dividends from the group.  McFarlane logged 21 minutes and scored a season-high, five points.  Raychel Shannon came off the bench to hit a key, three-pointer.  Taylor Miller also had six points.  Madison Rowland posted another double-double, finishing with 25 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.  Davidson had 13 points.  Korzevinski had a strong, all-around game, shooting 4-7, scoring 10 points and dishing out six assists without any turnovers.

The Queens College women's basketball team is off until after the New Year.  They return to action on Sunday, January 4, when they meet Immaculata University at 10:30 AM from Madison Square Garden.  The game is part of the Maggie Dixon Classic and is a doubleheader with St. John's and UConn.  Floor seats start at $20 and can be purchased by logging on to www.queensknights.com/msg.