ARLINGTON, Va.— Behind a game-high effort of 15 points by junior Leah Hurst, the Marymount (Va.) University women's basketball team coasted past Penn State University-Harrisburg on Wednesday night in the Verizon Sports Arena, 69-42, in a Capital Athletic Conference encounter.
The Saints jumped ahead early garnering an eight-point lead to start the quarter, 10-2. The Lions battled their way back into the matchup to get within two of the Saints as they headed to the benches following the first quarter, 14-12. Despite having a slim two-point lead at the end of the first quarter, the Saints never trailed Penn State throughout the course of the game.
Marymount later found its rhythm, converting plenty of defensive plays to points on the board. The Saints generated enough offense on fast breaks to outscore the Lions, 20-9, in the second quarter to take a commanding 34-21 lead at the half. The Saints also dominated the boards gathering 46 rebounds, with freshman Gabriella Haddad leading the team with eight.
MU opened the third quarter with seven unanswered points to pull ahead by 20, 41-21. Freshman Regan Lohr paced the blue and white through the quarter, adding five points to the board to garner a 55-26 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Saints kept up their tenacious effort on both the offensive and defensive end to round out regulation on top, 69-42. The stout Saints' defense forced 20 turnovers throughout regulation, and forced tough shots for the PSU offense resulting in a 30-percent field goal percentage.
Junior Nicole Viscuso quietly posted 12 points, while Lohr also notched an impressive 13 points to go along with Hurst's 15-point night. Hurst also posted a tied game-high four assists and game-high four steals, while adding the second-most rebounds for the night with seven.
Following Marymount's third-straight win, the Saints remain in sole possession of third place in the CAC at 7-2, trailing just No. 10 University of Mary Washington (8-1) and No. 6 Christopher Newport University (9-0) at the midway mark of league play. The blue and white will head into another CAC home matchup against Salisbury University on Saturday, January 21. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m., in the Verizon Sports Arena.