MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The Millersville women's basketball team struggled on the defensive end to open Monday night's contest against visiting East Stroudsburg, yielding 47 points by halftime en route to a 78-59 defeat.
The Marauders fell to 5-7 and 2-5 in PSAC play, while East Stroudsburg improved to 9-4 and a league-best 5-2 in PSAC East action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• East Stroudsburg's up-tempo offense caused problems for the Marauders from the start. The Warriors, leading 11-10 with under five minutes remaining in the first quarter, took advantage of Millersville's defense by closing on a 15-4 run to end the stanza. Abby Schoffstall's layup at the buzzer gave ESU a 26-14 lead at the end of one.
• The Warriors shot 10-of-19 (52.6%) from the field, 2-of-4 from 3-point range and knocked down 4-of-6 free throws as a team from the field in the first quarter. The Marauders shot a respectable 7-of-15 (46.7%) from the field but missed on its lone 3-point attempt and on both free throw attempts.
• The Marauders could move no closer in the second quarter, falling behind by 24 points at half, 47-23. Millersville shot 21.4% from the field in the quarter.
• Millersville's final 10 minutes was its best, out-scoring the Warriors, 23-14.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Lauren Lister led the Marauders in scoring with 22 points. It was her fourth consecutive effort of 20 points or more, a streak that dates back beginning Dec. 20 against Seton Hill.
• Guard
Chandera Jones-Aryeh recorded a season-high 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. The sophomore's 23 minutes of game action was the second-most she's recorded this season.
• Millersville took care of the basketball, turning the ball over just 11 times to East Stroudsburg's 16.
• The Warriors' ball movement caused issues for Millersville's defense. East Stroudsburg assisted on 17 made baskets to Millersville's six.
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Courtney Dimoff snagged a team-high seven rebounds, tied for the second most in the game.
HEAD COACH MARY FLEIG QUOTESS
• On the team's inconsistencies: "What sticks out to me now is I don't know how we can play really well one day and this poor another day. I thought we had a great practice, great energy and team morale; I have no idea."
• On the challenges of East Stroudsburg's up-tempo offense: "I think only having one day to run through it was not really good prep for us, coming off a double overtime game at Shippensburg with minimal recovery time. What I'm not happy with is we had two quarters to improve and we never improved or adjusted. They were two steps ahead and we didn't react."
• On the positives: "I thought our kids that went in that never really practice under that kind of pressure did a real good job of doing things that I asked them to do that we didn't work on. They had a good attitude about it."
NOTES
• Monday night's contest was in support of Ryan Smith, a member of the East Stroudsburg men's basketball team and 2018 Lampeter-Strasburg graduate. Smith was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in August. All proceeds from ticket sales, donations and #WarriorStrong bracelet sales benefited the Smith family.
• The Marauders entered the evening ranked third in points-per-game at 76.9. The Warriors -- and their second-ranked defense, allowing 61.0 points-per-game -- held Millersville to 59 points.
• Millersville dropped to 4-2 at home with the loss.
UP NEXT
• Millersville returns to Pucillo Gymnasium on Wednesday, Jan. 8 for a 5:30 p.m., tip vs. Kutztown.
