Saturday women: Slow your roll

 
Abby Fisher and Marymount won the low-scoring battle of undeated teams over No. 20 Messiah.
Photo by Marymount athletics


Marymount and Wisconsin Lutheran snapped the season-opening win streaks for No. 20 Messiah and No. 10 DePauw. Meanwhile No. 2 Tufts and No. 16 Transylvania kept their streaks going with narrow victories over Brandeis and Wittenberg.

The Saints won a typically low-scoring affair at home over Messiah, 54-51, despite shooting 28 percent from the field and missing the only three 3-point attempts they took. Marymount (5-0) held the Falcons to 12 points in the first half and took a 14-point lead into the break. Messiah (5-1) pulled within two points midway through the fourth quarter before Marymount scored the next four points. Messiah got within three on Megan Zimmerman's layup with 18 seconds left but Abby Fisher sunk two free throws to secure the Saints' victory.

Less than 24 hours after No. 10 DePauw won its third straight game against a WIAC foe, the Tigers fell to Wisconsin Lutheran, 70-63. Jenna Mace errupted for 17 of her game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter for the Warriors (3-2). The second game of that event also resulted in a loss for a ranked team, as Ohio Northern beat No. 17 UW-Oshkosh 62-56. Jaidyn Hale scored 17 points off the bench for the Polar Bears (3-0)

No. 2 Tufts fell behind Brandeis by eight at the half before rallying to beat the Judges on the road, 81-77. The leads changed hands 21 times, the last time coming when Tufts guard Cailin Harrington made two free throws with 28 seconds left. Camila Casanueva scored 32 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, for Brandeis (3-1).

No. 16 Transylvania outscored Wittenberg 17-4 in the fourth period and escaped Ohio with a 59-56 victory. Shelby Boyle hit back-to-back threes to give the Pioneers (3-0) a 56-54 lead, only to see the Tigers (2-2) pull even on Riley Culver's layup. Transylvania went ahead for good on Ashton Woodard's layup with 31 seconds left. After Wittenberg missed a shot, Shelby Boyle split a pair of free throws and the Tigers missed one final shot.

No. 1 Amherst passed its first test of the season with a 60-49 win at home over No. 22 Ithaca. All-American guard Hannah Fox scored 21 points and Courtney Resch posted a double-double (14 points, 15 rebounds) for the Mammoths (2-0).

The battle between unbeaten Hope and Mount Union was no contest as the Flying Dutch cruised past the Purple Raiders, 82-48. Sydney Muller led the way for No. 6 Hope with 21 points and seven steals. The Flying Dutch are 6-0 with a 43-point average margin of victory.

MIAC play began with familiar results as No. 9 St. Thomas beat St. Catherine 58-41 behind Brynne Rolland's career-high 20 points. Jazmyn Solseth's double-double (21 points, 15 rebounds) gave No. 23 Augsburg a 61-51 win over Concordia-Moorhead in its MIAC opener. Bethel (4-0) and Gustavus Adolphus (3-0) also stayed perfect with wins over Hamline and Macalester respectively.

Makana Stone scored seven points for Whitman in a game-deciding 7-0 run against Redlands, as the 21st-ranked Blues topped the Bulldogs, 77-74. Mady Burdett led the way for Whitman (4-0) with 26 points, including seven made 3-pointers, and nine rebounds.

Outside the Top 25, Mount St. Mary showed its still the team to beat in the Skyline as the Knights beat Manhattanville, 65-49. Annie Keenan notched a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds for Mount St. Mary.

UW-Whitewater outscored Illinois Wesleyan by 18 in the paint in the Warhawks' 67-55 home victory over the Titans. Emily Schumacher's three-pointer keyed a decisive 10-0 run for Whitewater (4-1)

Baldwin Wallace won its last game before OAC play begins, beating Washington and Jefferson 65-53. The Yellow Jackets (4-0) were led by Riley Schill who had 22 points. Baruch also stayed perfect, albeit by a smaller margin, when the Bearcats tipped SUNY Cobleskill, 72-71.