Mount de Sales coach Trish Armstrong reminded her team in the fourth quarter: Don't let Bryn Mawr come back and beat us.
The Sailors nearly did just that. Their 10-point lead with more than six minutes turned into a tie game, but they held on to edge Bryn Mawr, 43-41, in a Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference game at Bryn Mawr on Wednesday.
"I was stunned we kicked the lead away," Armstrong said. "It's an ugly win, but I will take it. We have had a game every other day and sometimes the fatigue shows. We are hoping to get to the Christmas break so they can get three days off and rest up their weary bones."
Mount de Sales (3-3) went a span of 6:14 in the final quarter without scoring.
The Sailors scored only five points and had seven turnovers in the quarter.
After freshman point guard Madison Burris made a three-pointer with 6:23 remaining to give Mount de Sales, a 41-31 lead, the Mawrtians went on a 10-0 run.
Sophomore point guard Jordan Askew sank a pair of free throws with 42 seconds remaining after getting fouled by Maisie Biranne to finish off that spurt and make it 41-41.
Senior forward/guard Amanda Donovan then hit the winning shot with nine seconds remaining — an 8-foot jumper from the right wing.
"In past years, she was just all about defense," Armstrong said of Donovan, who finished with 11 points, six rebounds and four steals. "This year, she has stepped up her offensive game and she has put the team on her back when we need her."
Askew missed a layup with three seconds remaining and Quichey Johnson's follow-up shot was off the mark.
"We talk to our girls about how we need to be very defenisve-minded and let our defense dictate our offense," Bryn Mawr coach Mimi Walters said. "In that run, that's what I think happened. We got some steals and some stops and we were able to convert on the other end. We got some high percentage shots."
Bryn Mawr (2-5) led 13-12 after the first quarter, and 24-19 less than three minutes before halftime.
Mount de Sales turned a 26-25 halftime lead to a 36-29 bulge by the end of the third quarter.
The Sailors closed the third quarter with a 5-0 run, which was highlighted by Josie Whelan's three-pointer.
Kristen Stark (7 points), Burris (5), Bridget Williams (5), Maisie Biranne (5), Sam Kenjorski (4) and Whelan (3) and Amanda Seidl (3) also scored for Mount de Sales.
Shannon Bittner (14 points), Askew (10), Grace Green (9), Kennedy Reed (4) and Clair Dunbar (2) and Maia Faraone (2) made the scoring colum for Bryn Mawr.