Box Score Millersville, Pa. – After falling behind 8-0 just 2:24 into Saturday's contest, the Marauders rallied to blast West Chester on their home floor 76-58 behind double-doubles from senior forwards
Aurielle Mosley and
Miesha Cousins and a game-high 24 points from junior guard
Senada Mehmedovic.
The win sends Millersville to a 15-6 record and 12-5 in conference play and gives the team its first three-game winning streak since it opened the season with five straight victories. Mosley had a monster game, posting 23 points on an efficient 10-of-17 shooting, 13 rebounds, two blocks and two steals, and Cousins added 12 points and 12 rebounds of her own.
Just like Wednesday's win at Bloomsburg, the star of Saturday's contest was Mehmedovic, whose 24 points were her second-highest output of the season. She shot 8-of-22 from the field but spaced the floor effectively, knocking down 5-of-12 3-pointers. The Carlisle native also added five rebounds, five steals and four assists in 37 minutes.
Mosley's double-double was her eighth of the year and 44
th of her career. It was the third time in her last five games that the redshirt senior has scored at least 20 points and pulled down at least 13 boards. The double-double for Cousins was her second of the season and first since Dec. 8 against Bloom.
The Marauders got into an early hole, but rallied and tied the game at 14 with 12:11 in the first half on a layup by
Celeste Robinson. Following the 14-6 spurt to tie the game, neither team led by more than five points at point in the rest of the opening stanza, and Millersville carried a lead into the locker rooms at 37-34.
After the intermission, the Marauders put the pedal to the metal and hung 39 points on the Golden Rams, who scored just 24 after the intermission. Mosley had 14 out of the break, Mehmedovic had 12 and
Mashira Newman had seven to account for 33 of the team's 39. Newman, who played a game-high 38 minutes, finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals.
Over the first 6:37 of the second half, Millersville went on a 20-10 run to balloon its lead to 13 points, capped by a Mehmedovic 3-pointer. The largest lead of the day was the final one, as Mosley finished off the Golden Rams on a free throw with 1:07 left on the clock. West Chester didn't score over the final 4:47 of game time, and didn't make a field goal over the final 5:57 of the game.
This game was a far cry from the first meeting between these teams at Hollinger Fieldhouse in West Chester. The Golden Rams grabbed a 94-78 victory and scored the second-most points against a Fleig-coached team. But the Marauder defense clamped down Saturday afternoon, allowing West Chester to shoot just 20.9 percent from the field and 9.1 percent from downtown in the final 20 minutes of play.
Saturday's home team forced the Golden Rams into 28 turnovers on 14 steals and turned those 28 changes of possession into 25 points. The Marauders also ruled the paint, outscoring West Chester 44-30 in the key.
Millersville now takes to the road for back-to-back games. First up is a Cheyney team the Marauders defeated 64-34 back on Jan. 16. In that game, no Marauder scored in double figures, but the team allowed its fewest points since the season-opener of 2009-10. Tip time at Cheyney on Wednesday is 6 p.m.