MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — The Millersville Marauders hosted the Shippensburg Raiders looking to snap its five-game skid dating back to Jan. 20. It was a defensive struggle, with both teams shooting under 35% from the field, but the Marauders persevered. Morgan Mahoney set a career-high in blocks with five and Makiah Shaw reached double-digits in scoring yet again en route to a 57-53 victory. 
 
The Marauders grabbed their first lead of the game on a Shaw layup courtesy of Sophie Elstone. Elstone threaded the needle past two Raider defenders with her pass and Shaw finished the play to put them up 4-2. Elstone would add five more points in the period off a steal and score on the fastbreak and a three-pointer. However, the Raiders exited the period with a 21-13 lead by nearly doubling up the 'Ville's field goal percentage. 
 
Millersville locked down on defense to begin the second, forcing misses or turnovers on the first five visitor possessions. They also didn't allow a field goal until the five-minute mark. This paired with an 11-4 scoring run brought the Marauders back within two. Madison Grubb was left alone on the far-side wing a few possessions later and knocked down her second three of the quarter to knot the game at 27.  They held the Raiders to 23.1% from the field and forced 6 turnovers in the period, winning it 16-10. 
 
After dominating the third quarters in each of the previous two home games, the Marauders looked for a repeat performance against the Raiders. The highlight of the period was a Shaw block in which she grabbed the ball in mid-air and sent it out of bounds. The Marauders finally tied the score with 3:40 to go, as Shaw struck on the roll yet again for her eighth and ninth points. It was back and forth from there on out, as the teams continued to exchange the lead. This continued into the fourth, as there were multiple lead changes down the stretch. 
 
A crucial sequence in the game's outcome occurred with just under two minutes remaining when Shaw put her body on the line and drew a charge. That led to a Jabria Ingram jumper on the other end to put the Marauders up 53-51. Shaw came up clutch again on the final Marauder possession of the game, grabbing an offensive rebound and putting it back to extend the Millersville advantage to four with 12 seconds remaining. 

GAME NOTES:

• Millersville creeps closer to .500 against Shippensburg all-time with the victory. With this win and the win earlier this season, the Marauders' record against the Raiders improves to 51-55. 
• The 'Ville's record in conference play moves to 6-9 with the victory, while the Raiders fall to 2-14. The Marauders are back in a tie with Mansfield for fourth place in the PSAC's Eastern Division. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Mahoney set season-bests in swats in both Shippensburg games this season. She recorded three against the Raiders on Jan. 10, then a season-high. The sophomore then set a career-best with five in this game, which was over half the team's total of eight. That mark is the second-most for the 'Ville this season trailing only the first Shippensburg game on Jan. 10. 
• Shaw tallied 13 points to lead the Marauders and La'Shyra Williams followed her up with 12. Its the twelfth time Shaw's reached double digits and the eleventh time that Williams has. Those two figures are first and second on the team this season.

POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH KIRA MOWEN

• Overall thoughts: "I'm happy that we started off February with a very gritty team win. Staying together throughout the 4th quarter was crucial in getting it done tonight."
• On the team's interior defense: "I thought we had moments of greatness and stepped up at times to get some very timely blocks. I'm most impressed with our charge count this game and how effective it became in the 4th quarter.  Our team needs to take pride on defensive stops."

UP NEXT

• The Marauders look to take their second game of the season over the Huskies when they travel to Bloomsburg on Feb. 10. Tip-off is at 1 p.m.