No. 23 Marauders Ride Strong First Half Effort to Win

Wednesday, February 24

East Stroudsburg, Pa.

6 p.m.

Millersville University

East Stroudsburg

No. 23 Marauders Ride Strong First Half Effort to Win

2/24/2010 9:01:14 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

East Stroudsburg, Pa. - The No. 23 Millersville women's basketball used the nation's No. 1 defense to build a big first half lead, but it needed some crucial buckets from senior Ashley Moyer late to capture a 52-49 victory over East Stroudsburg Wednesday evening in Kohler Field House.

Millersville (22-4, 11-1 PSAC East), which clinched the PSAC East last Saturday, entered Wednesday's contest with as many wins--22--as East Stroudsburg (4-22, 2-11 PSAC East) had losses. The Marauders seemingly buried the Warriors early, too, holding the home team to just 12 points in the first 20 minutes and building a 17 point lead. It was the fewest points allowed by the Marauders in a half this season.

Unfortunately for the Marauders, they couldn't duplicate their first half efforts. A combination of poor Millersville shooting (19.7 percent in the second half) and a suddenly proficient ESU offense (57.1 percent in the second half) quickly erased the Marauders' lead.

East Stroudsburg opened the half on an 11-0 run, and Millersville went without a bucket for the first 5:51. By the time Jenna Craig ended the drought, Millersville's lead had dwindled to eight. ESU continued to chip away and even took a 42-40 lead at the six minute mark. The Marauders trailed for three minutes until reigning PSAC East Freshman of the Week Mashira Newman scored five-straight points on her own.

Moyer knocked down two free throws to give the Marauders a 49-46 lead with 1:46 left. But ESU's Brittany McClain drilled a game-tying 3-pointer with 52 seconds on the clock.

Moyer did what seniors do, though, answering McClain's three with a go-ahead lay-up on Millersville's next possession, and her free throw with 17 ticks to go gave Millersville some added cushion. McClain had one more chance to tie the game, but the shot--taken with two seconds left--was swatted away by Craig, preserving Millersville's 22nd victory.

Moyer finished with 10 points and when Millersville was struggling to score, she hit 5-of-6 free throws in the second half. Newman led all scorers with 14 points and completed the first double-double of her career with 10 rebounds. Newman also tallied four steals, pulling her to within seven of the 100-steal milestone. Craig chipped in 13 points, five boards, two blocks and two steals.

Millersville, ranked third in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region, extended its winning streak to eight games and won for the 15th time in its last 16 outings.

The Marauders' close the regular season at home Saturday against Mansfield. The team's six seniors will be honored as part of Senior Day. Tip is scheduled for 1 p.m.