MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Holy Family nearly came back from a 24-point deficit in the third quarter shooting 54.5 percent from beyond the arc for 32 points in the fourth, but Millersville maintained its lead set early in the first to take the game 83-78.

The Marauders improve to 5-5 in the season winning their second-straight game at home. Holy Family falls to 6-5 overall following a two-game win streak.

Olivia Mottern led the way for the Marauders with a career-high 26 points. The junior guard went 5-of-5 from beyond the arc for her first 1.000 3-point percentage this season. Mottern shot 9-of-14 from the field and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe.

Ty Taylor, Mia Leonard and Courtney Dimoff reached double-figures tallying 13 points each.  Taylor went 6-of-3 shooting while Leonard went 6-of-11. Dimoff shot 2-of-3 from downtown. Erika Reed added 10 points of her own off 2-of-5 shooting and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Reed also went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
 
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Mottern opened the scoring for the Marauders with her first of five threes, but the Tigers' Moe Moore quickly responded with a three of her own. Millersville and Holy family continued to trade points through the first three minutes of the game tying at 7-7 before a quick 6-2 run from the Marauders gave them the cushion needed to hold onto the lead throughout the rest of the game. Mottern added a second three with two minutes left to create an eight-point lead. Holy Family's Anjelai Hayes closed the gap with a bucket from downtown and the Marauders led 25-16 at the end of the first quarter.
• Mottern struck again just 1:30 into the second quarter with another 3-pointer to put the Marauders up by 11. Holy Family tried to close in, but Dimoff stepped up sinking a three to take a 12-point lead. Mottern added four points over the next two minutes along with a 3-pointer from Taylor to give the Marauders a 40-26 lead. The Tigers' Moore sunk another three once again answered by Dimoff with her second 3-pointer. Millersville continued to lead 43-12 going into the half.
• The third quarter started with a Mottern 3-pointer to give Millersville the momentum needed to generate its largest lead of the game. The Marauders went on a 7-0 run at the 4:24 mark to create a 24-point lead. Holy Family came right back with a 9-0 run of its own holding the Marauders scoreless in the final three minutes and closing the gap to just 15 points at the end of the third, 61-46.
• The Tigers momentum continued at the start of the fourth quarter with 3-pointer from Megan Hughes to bring the team within 12 points of Millersville's lead. The teams traded layups before the Tigers' Elizabeth Radley sunk a three to further close the gap to nine points. Mottern answered back with yet another three to generate another 12-point cushion for the Marauders. Radley answered the challenge with a second basket from downtown. With 1:33 left in the game the Tigers' Hayes brought the score within six points with a successful 3-point attempt. Just over a minute later, Radley closed in on the Marauders lead even further with her third three of the quarter leaving Holy Family just three points behind 81-78. Two good free throws from Mottern sealed the deal and Millersville claimed the victory 83-78.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Marauders went 32-of-65 (49.2) from the field, 10-of-14 (71.4) from downtown and 9-of-14 (64.3) from the charity stripe. Holy Family shot 41.7 and 41.4 percent from the field and 3-point range, respectively.
 •Mottern's 26 points in the game are a new career high for the junior. The game marks her second 20-point effort of the season and fourth of her career. Her five 3-pointers tie her season high.
• Reed tied her season-high in field goals and 3-pointers with two each. She set a new career high in free throws with four.
• Leonard led the team in blocks with four and tied with Mottern in rebounds with seven apiece. Taylor led in assists with seven and steals with three.
• Millersville led Holy Family in points in the paint (36-22), bench points (10-12), and fast break points (10-2). The Tigers led the Marauders in second chance points (13-8) and points off turnovers (15-6).
 
HEAD COACH MARY FLEIG QUOTES
• "Olivia Mottern came out firing right away. She had a really far downtown three that was really exciting and I think surprised her. She is very consistent. We run a lot of sets for her and she really came through shooting. It was really nice after this break and only having one day of practice for both teams, you didn't know what to expect, and I think we shot the ball really well."
• "We had other people step up. It was good to see them takeover and to have five people in double-digits was really balanced scoring. I think they all did a great job."
• "It's good to get this kind of practice against a non-conference team and have that experience and now we start the conference, so we're looking forward to it and getting back in PSAC play."
• "Coming off of this game and having a couple days to prepare and recover is the secret when games are this close. When you only have one day between conference days it's a heavy load, so it's about maintaining bodies mentally and physically."
• "What we learned the weekend of Seton Hill and California was a really good weekend for us and this was another good boost. I think we're able to make adjustments in games and people are understanding what we're doing defensively and offensively."
 
NOTES
•Millersville's 71.4 3-point percentage is a season best.
•The Marauders continue to lead the all-time series against Holy Family 6-1. Millersville now holds a three-game win streak.
•This is Millersville's fourth win at home this season and second in a row.
 
UP NEXT
• The Marauders travel to Shippensburg, Pa. to take on the Raiders in a conference matchup on Friday, Jan. 3 at 6 p.m.