NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College women's basketball team opened the 2026-27 season with a 71-57 victory over Mount Saint Mary College on Wednesday night at Luce Field House.
In the first-ever meeting between the two schools, the Camels secured the win by outscoring the Knights by a 23-11 margin in the fourth quarter. Conn's
Hayle Thompson (Maynard, Mass.) led all players with career highs of 21 points and 16 rebounds, helping to secure the first career victory for head coach
Wade McNamara.
Mia Xerras (Charlotte, N.C.) and Valeria Santiago Dedos (Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico) chipped in 17 points apiece for the Camels, a career high for the latter. The duo also accounted for six of Conn's eight three-point field goals on the night.
Conn jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the opening tip and rode the play of Santiago Dedos to a 24-10 lead by the end of the first quarter. She shot 3-for-3 from the floor, 4-for-5 from the free throw line and drilled a pair of threes in the stanza, racking up 12 points over the first 10 minutes of play.
The Knights made up ground in the second quarter as Margaret Trinkaus got hot off the bench, scoring 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the frame. Her three-pointer at the end of the half trimmed the deficit to 31-27 at intermission.
Mount Saint Mary took its first lead on a three-pointer by Ava Orbon in the early stages of the third quarter. Conn never let the margin get above three and later regained the lead behind a 7-0 run that featured six points from Thompson.
The Camels led 48-46 heading into the final period but never yielded the advantage again. Xerras helped carry Conn to the finish, scoring nine points before the final buzzer to protect the margin. She scored seven points during a critical 12-0 run that pushed the lead to 66-52 with 1:18 to go.
Keaton Arangua-Egbert (Arvada, Colo.) made her first career start and contributed eight points, five rebounds and five assists. Newcomer
Francesca Mazzini (Braintree, Mass.) tallied five points and three boards in her collegiate debut.
Trinkaus finished with 18 points to lead the Knights (0-1 overall). Olivia Dimonda battled foul trouble for most of the game but still finished with 17 points in 20 minutes of action.
Conn (1-0 overall) returns to action at home against Bridgewater State University on Friday, November 13 at 5:30 p.m.
