EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The Marauders needed a victory in East Stroudsburg to fend off the surging Warriors in the PSAC's Eastern Division standings. Despite another strong third quarter and 10 or more points from three different players, the hosts emerged with a 65-55 win. 
 
East Stroudsburg pulled ahead early with a 7-0 run to begin the game, but Millersville evened the score by the end of the period on the backs of Makiah Shaw and Jillian Crawford. Shaw tallied the first six to cut into that seven-point deficit, making two out of three attempts. Crawford scored the next eight for the Marauders; she nailed two three-pointers and knotted the game at 14. 
 
The Warriors repeated their performance from the first quarter in the second, pulling ahead by seven to open the period. Shaw answered right back yet again, scoring six more points without a miss to raise her halftime total to 12. Between the efforts of Shaw and the entire Marauder defense, they remained within arm's length entering the game's midway point at 29-24. 
 
The Marauders looked to copy their 28-11 third quarter from last game in this one. They did just that, scoring 11 straight points over a four-minute span. Sophie Elstone hit two pull-up jump shots and made a layup after stealing the ball on the defensive end. It was Madison Grubb's three-pointer with 5:22 remaining that gave Millersville the 35-33 advantage, its first of the game. 
 
After hitting on 30% of their shots in the first half, the Marauder offense seemingly flipped a switch. They tripled that mark on their first 10 attempts in the third quarter, making nine of them. The visitors won the period 22-11 and finished 10 of 13 from the field, culminating in a 46-40 Marauder edge entering the fourth. 
 
Another Warrior run was what awaited the Marauders in the final period. This time, it was eight straight to regain the lead. Brenna Ortwein cut into the sudden deficit with an old-fashioned three-point play. She finished the layup through contact and knocked down the free throw to bring the Marauders within five at 58-53. 

GAME NOTES

• The loss snaps a five-game winning streak against East Stroudsburg dating back to 2020. The Marauder's all-time record against the Warriors falls to 58-34. In away contests that mark is much more even, with a 25-18 record. 
• The Marauders are now 5-7 when playing PSAC opponents, good for fifth in the Eastern Division. The Warriors leapfrogged them for fourth place with the victory. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Shaw led the way in scoring for the Marauders, tallying 18 points on seven of 10 from the field. It is the seventh time this season she's scored 15 or more points on 50% or better shooting. 
• Points in the paint and turnovers continue to be crucial for this team. The Marauders are 3-11 this season when committing equal or more turnovers than their opponents and 4-0 when winning that battle. Similarly, they are 6-3 when outscoring the opposition in the paint and just 1-8 when failing to do so. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH KIRA MOWEN

• Overall thoughts: "I thought the team did an excellent job in a tough environment. We played through a lot of adversity in the first quarter to keep it a game. I'm happy with our production in fighting back and being the aggressor into the third."
• On their third quarter run: "We spoke about moving the ball and finding as many isolation opportunities as we could and I think we did a great job of that in that quarter. Defensively, we were getting stops and pushing the tempo."

UP NEXT

• The Marauders encounter a quick turnaround when they travel to West Chester to face the Golden Rams on Jan. 29 at 5:30 p.m.