MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – On the night of the program's inaugural Pride Game, the Millersville women's basketball team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back for a 65-44 win over PSAC East rival West Chester Wednesday night. 

A 9-0 start to the game and an 11-3 run from the Marauders through the final seven minutes of play generated the team's largest lead in the game, 21 points. The Marauders never trailed. 

Millersville improves to 7-12 on the season and 4-10 in the conference. West Chester falls to an identical 7-12 overall record and 5-9 in PSAC play.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• A 3-pointer from Olivia Mottern to start the game set the momentum for the Marauders, driving them to a 9-0 run with layups from Lauren Lister, Mia Leonard and Courtney Dimoff through the first 3:12 of play.
• The Marauders allowed just four points before a layup from Leonard started them off on another 6-0 run to generate a nine-point lead. Millersville held the Golden Rams to just eight more points, pulling ahead by as many as 10 until a 3-pointer from West Chester's Leah Johnson in the last 30 seconds cut the deficit to seven points, 22-15, at the end of the first quarter.
• A fast break layup from Lister paired with a Dimoff bucket from downtown to start the final 10 minutes of play set the pace for the Marauders to build a 21-point lead. West Chester tried to bring the game back within reach with a jumper and 3-pointer, but Millersville answered with a 6-2 run to go back up by 17 points.
• Kyra Jefferson managed two buckets from the charity stripe with just over two minutes left in play to cut Millersville's lead to 15 points, but a 6-0 run rounded out the final minutes giving the Marauders the 21-point lead and the victory.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Lauren Lister led the pack with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
• Leonard and Mottern added 12 points apiece with five buckets from the field each. Mottern went 2-of-6 from beyond the arc.
• Dimoff totaled 10 points off 4-of-9 from the field and 2-of-5 from the 3-point range.
• Millersville shot 53.33 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from the 3-point range and 100 percent from the free throw line in the first quarter.
• The Marauders shot 42.4 percent from the field and 28.6 from beyond the arc while West Chester shot 26.9 percent and 11.8 percent from the field and 3-point range, respectively.
• Millersville out-rebounded the Golden Rams 45-41 and led in points in the paint, 30-26.
 
HEAD COACH MARY FLEIG QUOTES
• "It goes to show you just how positive we stayed through that tough stretch. We were in a lot of close games. It's good to get everyone back and healthy, we're full tilt now. It's nice to get these two wins and keep moving forward."
• "We had a winning mentality every quarter, but the team's approach coming into this game was everything. They were very positive and together. They were excited to play West Chester."
• "We made adjustments in a couple areas with people guarding certain people. We did a really great job with our game plan of just taking away some of their strengths. West Chester has dynamic offensive players and we did a great job of shutting them down. It was really about our mindset."
• "It was the first Division II Pride Game ever. That just goes to show the commitment Millersville has to everyone at the university and it was great to see. Kristin Kunzman was instrumental in getting that forward and it meant a lot to a lot of kids. It was a great environment. Our kids were proud to play in that arena."  
 
NOTES
• The Marauders improve to 47-44 all-time against the Golden Rams. The victory snapped West Chester's seven-game winning streak against Millersville. The win marks the Marauders' first since 2016.
• The loss is West Chester head coach Kiera Wooden's second to Millersville. She is now 10-2 all-time against the Marauders.
• The 21-point victory is Millersville's second-largest margin of victory this season. The Marauders recorded a 26-point victory against Cal U on Dec. 21. Both wins occurred on the Marauders' home court.
• Lauren Lister's 22-point effort puts her just 114 points away from breaking the program's all-time scoring record.
 
UP NEXT
• Millersville returns home to Pucillo Gymnasium this Saturday, Feb. 1 to face Bloomsburg for the second time this season.