MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — After a back-and-forth start, a 23-6 Marauder run was the difference in the game as Millersville defeated the visiting Chestnut Hill Griffins 87-72 in Pucillo Gymnasium. It was a return to form for the Marauders, who hoped to put a 22-point loss to Virginia Union three days prior behind them. 

Makiah Shaw started the scoring with a mid-range jumper from the free-throw line. It was a turnover-filled first quarter for both teams; the Marauders had seven while the Griffins had six. Many of those turnovers were travels. Kali March put the Marauders up 12-8 with just under four minutes to go in the first quarter with a silky smooth cross into a right handed finish through contact.
 
The Marauders entered the second quarter down two and but exited it up eight. Key to the turnaround was a persistent desire to get to the basket on the offensive end; Millersville finished the period with 11 more free-throw attempts than the Griffins because of that difference. Shaw had eight of her game-high 22 points in the quarter and was a big part of the Marauders' scoring attack.
 
After entering halftime with a 32-24 advantage, the Marauders went on a run coming out of the stoppage. The Griffins got the first bucket of the period, but it was all Millersville after that. Shaw started the scoring with a mid-range jumper and found Sophia Elstone for a transition and-1 layup on the team's next possession. Brenna Ortwein followed with a putback layup and Kali March forced a Griffin timeout with her first three-point make of the game. That put the Marauders up 42-26 and the onslaught continued after that; a minute and two more Marauder baskets later, March would hit three-pointers on three straight possessions to push the lead to 23 at 55-32. She scored nine points in 59 seconds and the outburst was part of a larger 23-6 Millersville run over a span of three minutes and 43 seconds.
 
"We went into half saying to continue to push and that they didn't have as much in terms of a bench and legs as us," Millersville head coach Kira Mowen said postgame. "In that third quarter we scored 33 and that was all transition; that was running and running and running and not letting up."
 
That stretch put the game essentially out of reach. Chestnut Hill would pull to within 10 with four minutes remaining in the final quarter but got no closer as the Marauders salted away the victory.

GAME NOTES

• After being inactive over the weekend due to an injury, freshman Aniya Eberhart made her Millersville debut with just under four minutes to go in the third quarter. Her first career points came on a free throw.
• The Marauders' record against the Griffins all-time improves to 1-0, as this was the first time the two programs have met.

STATISTICAL INSIGHTS

• Millersville was led in scoring by Shaw (22 points), March (18) and Ortwein (18). Shaw was 8/11 from the field and a perfect six-of-six from the charity stripe while March shot 4/9 from beyond the arc.
• Ortwein was a problem for the Griffins on both ends of the floor. She totaled those 18 points on nine shots and shot eight of nine from the free throw line. On the defensive end, the senior recorded two blocks and three steals in addition to 10 rebounds.
• As a team the Marauders shot 29/34 from the free-throw line (85.3%).

UP NEXT:

• The Marauders have nearly a week off before they travel to Delaware to take on the Goldey-Beacom Lightning. That's scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 18.