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Millersville, Pa. — Redshirt freshman Mashira Newman came off the bench to post team-highs of 13 points and eight steals and the Millersville women's basketball team forced more turnovers than it allowed points in a 69-33 season-opening rout of the University of the District of Columbia at Pucillo Gymnasium on Friday evening.

Visiting UDC (1-2) reeled off six of the game's first eight points in building an early 6-2 lead, but Newman stepped on to the court less than five minutes in and made an immediate impact in her Millersville debut. Over the next 12 minutes, the feisty guard picked up four points, three steals, two offensive rebounds, an assist and a block, as the Marauders (1-0) used a 15-7 run to lead 20-13 with just under four minutes to go in the first half.

While the Black and Gold started to pad its lead, the Firebirds could do no right. A jumper from Tamara Watkins and a layup by Lillian McGill were the only field goals UDC managed to net in the final 15:15 of the half. A dried up offense couldn't score, but Lester Butler Jr.'s squad was hurt mightily by turnovers in both halves. UDC committed 20 first half giveaways, which Millersville turned into 16 points, as it took a 26-16 lead to the locker room.

Millersville head coach Mary Fleig used her bench at will throughout the first half, with 11 players seeing minutes. Eight of those players found the hoop over the first 20 minutes to lead a balanced scoring attack. Ashley Moyer paced the team in first half scoring with six points, while Jenna Craig continued her rebounding prowess with six first half boards.

The offensive ineptitude continued into the second half for UDC. The Firebirds were held without a field goal over the first 8:20 and found no solution for their possession problems. Newman added seven points and three assists, while Moyer chipped in five more points in a 23-5 Millersville run, which culminated with a Monica Newman layup to make it 49-21 Marauders with 9:30 remaining.

The second half carried a similar storyline, as Millersville converted another 23 UDC turnovers into 25 points. The depth of MU's bench also played a huge role, outscoring UDC's bench 47-6 for the game. The Marauders forced 43 turnovers, the most by any opponent since Columbia Union committed 41 on Nov. 15, 2008. More impressive was the fact that this was just the second time MU has forced 40+ turnovers in a game in the last seven seasons.

For the second straight season, the Marauders allowed less than 35 points in a season-opener. Last year Millersville held Columbia Union to just 30 points in a 101-30 victory. Lillian McGill did all she could to keep the Firebirds around, finishing off with 10 points and 12 boards to lead the way. McGill was UDC's only double-figure scorer and rebounder. Ty Abilla had the double-figure stat she probably wishes she could erase, committing a team-high 11 turnovers.

The Marauders got points from 12 of the 14 players that saw action on Friday night. Mashira Newman's 13 led a trio of double-figure scorers. Moyer finished with 11, while Sophia Waters tied her career-high with 10. To no one's surprise, Craig once again led the team in rebounding with 10, adding four points. Five ladies also picked up multiple steals in the game with the Newman sisters combining for 13 of MU's game total of 27.

UDC shot just over 25-percent from the floor in the game, while Millersville hit on 41.5-percent of its attempts. The Marauders were amazingly just as efficient from 3-point land, where they hit 40-percent of their attempts (6-of-15). Contributions were felt from veterans as well as newcomers, as each of the Marauders' three true freshman picked up their first collegiate points. Jessica Beswick had five points and Miesha Cousins four, while Raquel Flemings came through with three points on the evening.

Millersville returns to Pucillo Gymnasium tomorrow evening when it hosts Lock Haven (1-1) in a non-conference matchup at 7 p.m.