Millersville, Pa. – With its offense out of rhythm, the Millersville women's basketball team turned to its defense. The Marauders went from trailing by six in the closing minutes of the first half to beating USciences by a 71-53 score Saturday afternoon.
 
Millersville (10-6) started slowly, shooting just 22 percent and scoring 14 points in the first 16:05 of game action. But Yasmin Cooper scored six consecutive points in a little more than a minute, and a full-court, trapping defense and renewed intensity in the half court man-to-man helped the Marauders turn a 20-14 deficit into a 25-20 halftime lead in just under four minutes.
 
The Marauder onslaught continued in the third quarter and by the time USciences made its first field goal of the second half (with 4:25 left), Millersville had gone on a 27-4 run over nine minutes. Aunjel Van Brakle scored nine of Millersville's points in that stretch while the team shot 9-of-16 from the field. The Marauders pestered USciences into 0-of-8 shooting and eight turnovers at the same time.
 
Much of the run was made without leading scorer Celeste Robinson, who picked up her fourth foul just 1:10 into the third quarter. But Robinson scored 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Marauders extend their lead to as many as 21.
 
Millersville scored 46 points in the second half after totaling just 25 in the first. The defense generated a season-high 19 steals—the most since Jan. 15, 2014—which led to 37 points off turnovers. Tyisha White was the source to much of USciences' turnover problem, generating eight steals—the most by a Marauder since Mashira Newman's school record 11 in 2013.
 
Van Brakle and Robinson finished with a game-high 15 points. Van Brakle sank 8-of-9 free throws and grabbed a team-high eight boards. Robinson shot 7-of-10 from the field.
 
Millersville returns to PSAC East action on Wednesday, Jan. 20 with a road trip to rival West Chester. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m.