WEST CHESTER, Pa. — The Marauders sought to upset the second-place Golden Rams Monday evening, but a well-played first 15 minutes wasn't enough to get the job done. West Chester emerged with the 73-45 win on the back of a 60-33 advantage through the final three quarters. 
 
Makiah Shaw started hot, tallying eight of the first 10 Marauder points. Millersville's defense was stout in the initial period, especially through the first eight minutes. West Chester only managed five points through that point in time and was held to two of 14 from the field. The Marauders jumped out to a 12-5 lead on the strength of those eight Shaw points, their largest of the game. Despite the early Marauder advantage, the Golden Rams answered right back with a run of their own. They ended the period by scoring eight straight points and exited with a 13-12 edge. 
 
The Marauders garnered baskets with an extra free throw on consecutive possessions in the second period. First, Jillian Crawford banked in a free-throw jumper and hit the extra point to pull even with the hosts at 18. After a Golden Ram score, Juliana Vinluan was fouled en route to the basket and finished the layup to retie the game at 20. 
 
The rivals remained neck and neck through most of the second quarter. Brenna Ortwein played a big role, leading the Marauders in both rebounds and assists with four apiece. West Chester finished the half on an 11-4 run to take a 37-26 lead heading into the break. 
 
For the game, Crawford was tops on the Marauders in scoring with 14 off the bench and Shaw was second with 11. It is Crawford's fourth consecutive game reaching double digits and Shaw's team-leading tenth game doing so overall. 

GAME NOTES

• Millersville's all-time record against West Chester moves to 47-51. Its record when playing in West Chester moves to 18-29. 
• After starting 2024 by winning four games in a row, the Marauders have dropped their last four. In the East division standings, they are now tied with Mansfield and East Stroudsburg for fourth with a 5-8 conference record. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• After that strong first half, Ortwein continued in the second, finishing tops on the Marauders in rebounds and assists. She pulled down 10 boards and six assists and it was her second time reaching double digits in the past three games. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH KIRA MOWEN

• Overall thoughts: "It was a tough game tonight. West Chester did a good job of making adjustments to what we were doing. We played a great 16 minutes then the 4 minute swing in the 2nd quarter caused us to panic. We need to get out of our own way and have some better mental toughness."
• On the stretch of three games in six days: "It's a grueling time of year. It challenges the best teams and makes you stay on your toes. I think our players will be excited for a day off finally. We have another push in us Wednesday night and we'll give them all we got."

UP NEXT

• A tall task awaits the Marauders on Wednesday evening in the No. 16 Lock Haven Bald Eagles. They clash at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 31 in Pucillo Gymnasium.