Box Score

Mansfield, Pa. — Mansfield put up a fight on its senior day, trailing by just two points at halftime, but the Millersville women's basketball team took its game to another level in the second half, outscoring the Mountaineers 34-18 and earning a share of the PSAC East title with a 61-43 victory on Saturday afternoon.

The Marauders (22-5, 11-3 PSAC East) scored the first four points of the game, but it was Mansfield (7-20, 3-11 PSAC East) that carried play throughout the better part of the first half. Mallory Moore's layup at the 6:53 mark gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the day at 10-9. Mansfield, which only scored 12 points in the first half in its first meeting with Millersville this season, easily eclipsed that mark on Saturday.

Mansfield's lead reached seven points when Courtney Brooks converted a layup to make it 16-9. Millersville, however, responded with a 10-0 run. Senior Gladine St. Julien and junior Aiesha Bellamy sparked the run with four points apiece. The Mountaineers reclaimed the lead, 25-24, on a layup by Morgan Hafer, but Ashley Moyer buried a 3-pointer on the Marauders' final possession of the first half to give the visitors a 27-25 halftime lead.

Millersville, behind Moyer and St. Julien, quickly put together an 8-0 run to start the second half. Mansfield cut the lead to five on a layup by Moore with 14:34 remaining, but from there, the Marauders took over. Millersville's lead ballooned to 24 with 6:14 to go, following a 21-2 run that made it 60-36. The Mountaineers would trim some of the deficit off in the waning moments, but the Marauders soundly secured a share of the PSAC East title. After going 12-0 in the East last season, Millersville continued its prominence within the division by racking up an 11-3 record in conference play this season.

St. Julien paved the way for the Marauders, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Four Marauders finished in double-figures, as Bellamy (12), Moyer (12), and Sophia Waters (10) enjoyed solid afternoons. Jenna Craig picked up a game-high 11 rebounds in the contest. Mansfield was paced by leading scorer, Mallory Moore, who had 19.

Millersville's defense did a wonderful job on Moore's supporting cast. Moore was 6-10 from the floor, but her teammates managed to shoot just 8-of-45 from the floor.

PSAC East foe, West Chester, was also victorious on Saturday afternoon, meaning the Marauders and Golden Rams will share the PSAC East title in 2008-09. Millersville has now won the PSAC East outright or shared the title nine times since 1981-82. It's also the first time the Marauders have been atop the PSAC East in consecutive years, since the program won three straight PSAC East titles from 1982-83 to 1984-85. The 1984-85 PSAC East title was shared with Bloomsburg.

Millersville will now host the third seed from the PSAC East, Kutztown, in the opening round of the PSAC Tournament on Tuesday night. Tip-off time at Pucillo Gymnasium is yet to be determined.