MANSFIELD – The Mansfield University women's basketball team remained within striking distance for all four quarters in their 2021-22 home opener on Saturday, Nov. 13, but D'Youville College proved to be too much as they left Decker Gymnasium with a 50-39 non-conference victory.
 
Senior Paige Whitfield scored a team-high 11 points with a pair of 3-pointers. Senior Kira Merritt also knocked down two shots from three, finishing with eight points and six rebounds. Junior Jasmine Hilton added eight points and a time for the team-lead in rebounds with sophomore Logan Nutt, with eight each.
 
The Mounties (0-1 overall) were relentless during their comeback effort, remaining within two scores at the end of each quarter. However, they could not go on the run that was needed to overcome the deficit.
 
Each school recorded 13 steals and eight assists, while the Saints (1-0 overall) narrowed out the Mounties in rebounds by four. However, the Mounties suffered from a down shooting night from the floor (25 percent) and from the line (33 percent).
 
D'youville (1-0 overall) jumped out to an 11-5 lead at the 1:30 mark in the first quarter, before Merrit drilled a trifecta to spark a 5-2 Mountie run to close out the period.
 
 The second and third quarter mirrored the first, allowing the Saints to extend their lead to 10, 40-30, heading into the final period.
 
Hilton connected on a runner to trim the Mountaineer deficit to eight with 6:49 to go, but that was as close as it would get the rest of the way.
 
Sara Pfeiffer led D'Youville with a game-high 17 points, adding six rebounds and three assists. Riley Riedel added 15 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Mounties are back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 16 when they travel to Roberts Wesleyan College at 6 p.m. for a non-conference game.