ROCHESTER, N.Y. –  Each time the Roberts Wesleyan College women's basketball team needed to make a big play on Wednesday night, a member of the Redhawks stepped up and delivered one.
Senior guard Taryn Wilson may have made the biggest one of all.
Wilson's steal and layup after a missed free throw gave the Redhawks a 53-51 lead with 2:06 remaining and Roberts held on for a 57-55 victory over Mercy College in an East Coast Conference game at the Voller Athletic Center.
"That play was a game-changer," Roberts coach Kevin Clifford said after his team won its fifth straight game.
"I saw the shot go up and it was going left, so I curled that way," said Wilson, who finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. "She didn't see me, so I just took it from her and made the layup."
Wilson and sophomore point guard Danielle DiCintio each went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line as the Redhawks (9-5, 6-2 ECC) avenged a 68-63 loss at Mercy on Dec. 17. The Mavericks fall to 10-8 overall and 8-2 in the conference.
"We tell them to protect our house, which is important," Clifford said. "Mercy is a good team and this was a tough game."
Sophomore Toni Neely-Primus continued her run of solid play, leading Roberts in scoring with 19 points. DiCintio finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and senior Dimitra Gkizani contributed six points and 11 rebounds.
"She can play inside and outside," Clifford said of Neely-Primus, who entered the game with the top field goal percentage in the ECC (50.5). "She is a gifted scorer and she has really improved her 3-point shooting percentage."
"My teammates are doing a great job finding me and I am just making some shots," Neely-Primus said.
Wilson's 3-pointer with 2:26 left ignited an 8-4 Roberts' run to close the third quarter as the Redhawks took a 46-41 lead into the final period.
"Right now, we are playing good team basketball," Wilson said. "We are making the extra pass and kicking the ball out to get open looks."
The Redhawks opened the game on an 11-0 run that included 3-pointers by Neely-Primus, DiCintio and Wilson. Roberts went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc and led 17-15 after the first 10 minutes. Neely-Primus scored 10 points in the first half as Roberts trailed 31-30 at the break.
"We have a bunch of weapons," Neely-Primus said. "Every game there is someone who is doing well and every player on our team is capable of scoring 10 points or more every game, and that makes us tough to guard."
Roberts continues its four-game homestand at 2 p.m. Saturday with an ECC game against Saint Thomas Aquinas College.