MANSFIELD, Pa. — Brenna Ortwein finished with a team-high 15 points on six-of-seven from the field to lead the Millersville Marauders (11-5, 6-3) over the Mansfield Mountaineers (5-11, 3-7) by a score of 68-56. She also contributed on the defensive end with a block, two steals and five rebounds; Millersville's rebounding as a team was crucial to the win, as they had four players with five or more boards.
 
"Brenna did a great job," Marauders head coach Kira Mowen said of her performance. "We've been kind of waiting for her to have another one of these breakout games. She did a very good job of handling the pressure, even when our point guard went out in the first with fouls. She was able to handle the point guard role and not turn it over. But then she was also hitting shots and making layups at the rim. She continues to do that no matter if she's got 15 or 4 (points). She's always going to be somebody that is a catalyst to what we do offensively and defensively."
 
Ortwein was one of four Marauders to finish with multiple steals, as Sophia Elstone and Kali March both finished with three while Bryn Zentner had four. As a team, Millersville had a season-high 12 steals. That was key to the team's 18-10 advantage in the turnover battle, a season high in conference competition. Their 10 turnovers were tied for the fewest they've had against a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) team; Millersville also had 10 turns against the Shippensburg Raiders on Jan. 3.
 
"It's been a focus for us," Mowen said of her team's ability to take care of the ball. "Even this week we've done offensive execution drills so we're actually getting looks without coughing the ball up. Mansfield played a good game, but they don't have too much of a press, which sometimes hurts us. Their half-court defense stymied us a little bit, but we were able to sweep through, protect it, and then not cough it up."

Ortwein, March and the Marauders have been especially effective in the thievery department over the last month or so; Millersville's had 10 or more steals in nine of its last 11 games and March and Ortwein have at least one steal in all 11.
 
"We teach proper defensive positioning," Mowen pegged as a cause for the team's recent surge in thefts. "And being in proper defensive positioning allows to take simple passes from the other team when they try to throw lobs or when we're just sitting there in the help side. It's nothing crazy. We're not jumping out of the gym. We're not trying to read and shoot gaps. But we're teaching proper team defense and when to be in help side and when not to be there."
 
In a game that was billed as the battle of the bigs, it was the outside shooting of the Marauders that gave them the early advantage. They went five-of-11 from beyond the arc in the first half, leading to a 35-25 lead at the break. An 11-2 run fueled by steals and fastbreak opportunities out of the half pushed the difference to 19 a few minutes in, but the Mounties would battle back and make it a game in the fourth. A Mansfield free throw would cut the deficit to six with three minutes to go, but an Ortwein layup followed by back-to-back possessions with converted free throws put the game out of reach.
 
The Marauders look to maintain their position atop the Conference's East Division when they take on Kutztown on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 1 p.m.