MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — The Marauders hosted the Mountaineers in a critical game for playoff positioning in the PSAC's Eastern Division in Pucillo Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. Millersville entered in fifth place, a half-game behind the visitors. They leapfrogged Mansfield with an 85-75 victory in which five different players reached double figures, a season high. 
 
The Marauders began the game on an 11-4 run powered by five points from Makiah Shaw, who popped out to the three-point line and drained the jumper. Jabria Ingram had an emphatic block to stifle a Mountaineer fast break during this stretch. Scoring slowed in the second half of the period, but the hosts took their biggest lead of the quarter with 20 seconds remaining. Morgan Mahoney nailed a catch-and-shoot three to make the score 18-8. 
 
The visitors were held at arm's length for the first five minutes of the second quarter, but they got back into the game by scoring seven straight. The Mountaineers took advantage of a few defensive miscommunications and hit the open threes that resulted. Millersville head coach Kira Mowen provided some insight after the game, saying:
 
"Sometimes we're not talking or communicating; they hit that back cut quite a few times, and we didn't have a correct drop for it. I drew it up on the board a couple of times in the one timeout just to make sure we understood where our proper rotations were going to come from."
 
Mahoney got hot at the right time to answer back, scoring six straight Marauder points. She entered halftime with team-highs in points (11) and rebounds (five). Millersville claimed a 36-34 advantage at the game's midway point due to an improbable sequence with 5.6 seconds remaining. Jillian Crawford inbounded from the backcourt and lofted a pass down to a streaking Ingram; she laid the ball in through contact and cashed in on the extra-point opportunity. 
 
Mahoney continued to have her way into the second half, cashing in from 15 feet to give the Marauders the first blow. The teams traded baskets for most of the period, but Millersville exited with a 57-51 lead thanks to Madison Grubb's corner three with four seconds remaining. 
 
Brenna Ortwein kicked off the fourth quarter with her second completed three-point opportunity of the game. That put the Marauders up six, and Ingram hit a floater on the next possession to make it eight with eight minutes remaining. The Mounties fought back from beyond the arc but couldn't get closer than five points for most of the quarter. Millersville's defense fed the offense when it hit any sort of lull; three steals directly led to Marauder points on the fastbreak. 
 
The Marauders entered the final two minutes up 79-70 and salted the game away from there en route to an 85-75 win. That's the most points Millersville has scored in a game this season, topping its previous best of 82 against Slippery Rock on Dec. 2. 
 
A huge part of the victory was Millersville's defense at the three-point line. The Mounties' win over the Marauders earlier this season was powered by an 11 of 23 mark from beyond the arc. They were held to just six of 26 in this game, something that Mowen prioritized coming in.
 
"Guarding the three point line was one of our defensive emphases for the game," Mowen said postgame.  "I thought we did fairly well up until parts of that second half, when we gave up some o-boards, and then they in turn hit a three on us.

GAME NOTES:

• The Marauders' all-time dominance against the Mounties at home is unmatched across programs, as they have now won 41 contests without a loss. 
• After falling behind the Mounties in the division standings with their loss on Jan. 20, the Marauders return the favor. The Marauders' 8-10 conference record gives them a half-game lead and sole possession of fourth place in the East. 
• The Mansfield loss continues an intriguing trend for the Mountaineers, as their home and road splits are noteworthy. They are 7-2 at home in conference play and now just 1-9 on the road. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• In the Marauders' highest-scoring game of the season, seven players tallied eight or more points. Five players (Elstone, Shaw, Mahoney, Ortwein and Ingram) reached double figures, also a season high. 
• Both Shaw and Mahoney hit their first three-pointers of the season in this game. Mahoney set career-highs in points and field goals made with 19 and eight, respectively. 
• Ortwein led the team in rebounding with 11 boards to go with her 10 points. That rebounding number matches a season-high and gives her her first double double of the year. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH KIRA MOWEN:

• On evening the season series: "It was a great feeling for our team. We had great energy coming into this game. We knew that after that loss in Mansfield, we had to come back and get them on our home floor. I thought the team prepared especially well this week and we got the job done today."

UP NEXT:

• The Marauders travel to Kutztown to take on the Golden Bears looking for their third consecutive victory on Feb. 21 at 5:30 p.m.