MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — Pucillo Gymnasium was the place to be Saturday afternoon, as the Millersville Marauders hosted the East Stroudsburg Warriors on Senior Day. In front of a packed house, the Marauders honored Jabria Ingram, La'Shyra Williams and Madison Grubb for their contributions before defeating the visitors 53-34.
 
Defense ruled the court from the start, as the Marauders forced four turnovers in the first six minutes before committing one of their own. They held the Warriors to just six points in the first quarter on 17.6% shooting from the field. An eight-point Marauder run over the last six minutes of the period put the hosts in front 14-6 by its conclusion. 
 
In one of the more impressive feats of the season, they also held East Stroudsburg scoreless for eight minutes in the first half. The Warriors shot zero of 13 between the 6:06 mark of the first quarter until their next bucket with eight minutes remaining in the second quarter. Millersville head coach Kira Mowen loved what she saw from her defense.
 
"The way we closed out, the way we forced the issue, our body-on-body contact in the post, that's the reason why it looked good defensively," Mowen said postgame. "That, and the buy-in to the scouting report are the reasons we got so many stops."
 
By the time East Stroudsburg scored its next basket, Millersville had extended its lead to double digits at 17-8. Makiah Shaw was personally responsible for its biggest lead of the half, scoring six straight points a few minutes later to make it 23-10. She finished the half plus 11 for her efforts, tops on either team. She would also finish the game with a team-high 16 points.
 
The visitors made inroads into that advantage by the end of the third quarter, coming as close as 32-30. Juliana Vinluan brought the Marauder advantage back to six with a sweet fadeaway jumper from the right block. That gave her eight points on four of six from the field. Her bucket was crucial to the 38-32 lead the hosts entered the fourth quarter with.
 
Millersville bolstered its dwindling advantage with a run uncannily similar to the one it had against Kutztown on Wednesday. This time, the 7-0 blitz brought the advantage to 13 with eight minutes to go. The defense had another outstanding stretch as part of this run; they held the Warriors scoreless from the 40-second mark of the third quarter to the 2:46 mark of the fourth. That stand put the game out of reach and resulted in the 54-34 victory. Those 34 points are the fewest the Marauders have allowed in a game this season. 

GAME NOTES:

• The Marauders' record against the Warriors all-time improves to 59-34 and they avenge the loss at East Stroudsburg earlier this season. Home court has been immensely important for the Marauders in this rivalry as they are 35-10 in Millersville.
• The 'Ville's record in conference play returns to .500 for the first time since January 17 at 10-10. They are firmly entrenched in fourth in the Eastern Division behind Kutztown (11-9) and ahead of Mansfield (8-13).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• The Marauders held the Warriors to just 19 points in the first half on 24% shooting. They also won the fourth quarter 15-2 while limiting them to 8.3%. All told, the visitors made 23.3% of their attempts for the game.
• Every single point in the game came from inside of the arc, as neither team made a three-pointer. The Warriors entered this game last in the PSAC in three-point makes per game while the Marauders were second-to-last. 

HEAD COACH KIRA MOWEN ON HER SENIORS:

• On La'Shyra Williams: "She brings a lot of confidence and leadership to the program, and she's obviously been a presence in the post for us. She's made remarkable strides from when we got here back in the fall in terms of her post moves and ability and what she can do from an offensive standpoint."
• On Madison Grubb: "Maddie is my long ball shooter. She can stretch defenses and she plays great defense at the top of our zone.  She's always locked in and keyed in, and she's another player that is a great teammate. She exhibits great leadership abilities, especially when it comes to moving people in the right direction."
• On Jabria Ingram: ""She went out earlier this season with an injury, and I think the team kind of felt that. She does a great job of seeing the floor, and that's where a lot of our transition looks come from. When she's hitting her shots and when she's confident in that shot, she's an offensive weapon. In addition to that, her defense is amazing. Even today, she took some of that post contact from their big post players and was doing just fine down there."

UP NEXT:

• The Marauders host West Chester on Wednesday, February 28 at 5:30 p.m. in Pucillo Gymnasium looking for their fifth straight victory.