Together the teams totaled 58 turnovers, with the Mariners (5-1, 1-0) scoring 26 points of Old Westbury (3-3, 0-1) blunders and the Panthers scoring 15 off the Blue and Gray.
First on the board was Old Westbury with a layup by Jennifer Hoyt from Purnell Danna, followed by a jumper from Rachel Yambaye assisted by Leah Hernandez.
The Panthers held the Mariners frozen behind them until sophomore forward May Marie Hayes lit up the floor with a steal passed off to Morgan Gartner, who missed her shot for three. Hayes put back up the rebound for a basket, cutting the Panther lead to one point (6-7).
The Panthers answered back with a layup by Hoyt again from Hernandez. But Hayes, determined to keep the energy up, got one right back with a shot from under the basket assisted by Stephanie Waller.
Freshman forward Hannah Eko cemented the early comeback with a jumper from Andrea Carey to put the Mariners up 10-9 in the sixth minute of play.
The Mariners never looked back. By the end of the first half, the Mariners had pulled away from the Panthers and were up 37-26.
"Today was a good way to start off conference play," said head coach Mike Murray.
The Mariners will not play another conference game until after New Years when they take on the Panthers again at their home court on Jan. 10.
Hayes ended the game with 12 points, 9 rebounds and one assist. Carey finished with 14 points, four assists and five rebounds. Gartner and Eko had 10 points each, Gartner holding off the Panthers with seven rebounds as well.
Eko had a career high of seven blocked shots and 10 points.
The Mariners return to the court on Dec. 17, at New York University.
Newspaper Box Score Old Westbury vs U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 12/10/05 2:00 pm at Kings Point, NY - Liebertz Gymnasium At Kings Point, NY - Liebertz Gymnasium U.S. MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY 67, OLD WESTBURY 54 OLD WESTBURY (3-3, 0-1) Yambaye, Rachel 7-12 0-0 14; Payton, Candyce 2-7 7-9 12; Purnell, Danna 3-10 3-5 11; Johnson, Janera 2-8 2-2 6; Hoyt, Jennifer 2-7 1-3 5; Midy, Monique 2-11 0-2 4; Hernandez, Leah 1-5 0-1 2; Thompson, Kacey 0-1 0-0 0; Murray, Arione 0-0 0-0 0; Benjamin, Chanel 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-63 13-22 54. U.S. MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY (5-2, 1-0) Carey, Andrea 3-7 6-6 14; Hayes, May Marie 4-6 4-7 12; Eko, Hannah 4-5 2-4 10; Gartner, Morgan 3-6 4-4 10; Carlisle, Ashley 3-7 0-0 9; Hetsko, Kristen 2-9 0-0 5; Olson, Marisa 1-3 3-4 5; Westendorf, Debra 1-1 0-0 2; Waller, Stephanie 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 21-48 19-25 67. Old Westbury.................. 26 28 - 54 U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.. 37 30 - 67 3-point goals-Old Westbury 3-11 (Purnell, Danna 2-2; Payton, Candyce 1-3; Hernandez, Leah 0-3; Benjamin, Chanel 0-1; Johnson, Janera 0-2), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 6-17 (Carlisle, Ashley 3-6; Carey, Andrea 2-4; Hetsko, Kristen 1-5; Waller, Stephanie 0-2). Fouled out--Old Westbury-None, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy-None. Rebounds-Old Westbury 39 (Yambaye, Rachel 13), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 42 (Hayes, May Marie 9). Assists-Old Westbury 11 (Purnell, Danna 4), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 15 (Carey, Andrea 4). Total fouls-Old Westbury 19, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 20. USMMA wins 5th straight