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Left to right: Nicole McDermott attempting a shot, Hannah Ambrosy dribbling, and Taylor Haase posing up a defender
Posted: Dec 16, 2021

McDermott, Ambrosy, and Haase lead the way for Pride's 85=69 win over Mount Mercy

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Continuing their winning ways to start Heart of America Athletic Conference play, the Clarke University women's basketball team earned an 85-69 win over Mount Mercy University on Thursday night at the Kehl Center.

A big second quarter was to credit for being able to hold a sizeable lead throughout the second half as the Pride outscored the Mustangs 25-13 in the second 10 minutes of the game. The rest of the game was played very tightly as CU only outscored Mount Mercy by a total of four points with a two-point advantage in the first quarter and a two-point advantage in the fourth quarter.

It was a tie game at 19-19 with 5:23 left in the second quarter when the Pride went on a significant run to end the half as they scored the next 12 points over a span of 3:03 to lead 31-19 before the half ended at a 37-23 Clarke advantage.

Sophomore guard Nicole McDermott shined for the second-straight game as she scored 23 points in just 22 miunutes of game time while adding seven rebounds, two steals, and two assists. It is her second-straight game scoring over 20 points as she poured in 10 in the fourth quarter to help CU maintain their lead and could have had more in the fourth but she took a seat with 5:44 remaining in the game and never reentered with Clarke leading by double figures.

Off the bench Clarke got quality offensive games from Hannah Ambrosy and Taylor Haase as Ambrosy scored a career-high 16 points, also in 22 minutes, on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from deep. Haase had a strong game in the post with 12 points, also on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, while adding two rebounds and two blocked shots.

The game's leading scorer came from the Mustangs' Madison Dreckman as she scored 26 points working a nice inside and outside game going 6-for-9 from three-point range and 10-for-17 overall from the field but only one other player for MMU scored in double figures.

Clarke women's basketball will be back to action this Saturday as they host non-conference foe No. 19 Saint Xavier University for a 12:00 p.m. CT tip at the Kehl Center.