ARLINGTON, Va.— The No. 25 Marymount (Va.) University women's basketball squad handled No. 12 University of Mary Washington in a Capital Athletic Conference clash on Wednesday night, 69-57, to move into second place in the league standings with one game remaining in the regular season.
Junior Nicole Viscuso struck first for the Saints, taking an early 2-0 lead. Freshman Regan Lohrquickly followed with another bucket to push an early four-point lead. Both squads went head to head throughout the first quarter, forcing two ties and two lead changes before the Saints headed to the bench ahead, 12-8.
Marymount continued to extend its early lead in the second quarter. Sophomore Tyffani McQueensparked an 8-0 run for the Saints by hitting a quick bucket underneath. Junior Leah Hurst added another basket and Lohr knocked down two from the free-throw line. McQueen rounded out the run with another layup to pull ahead, 20-8. At the end of the half, the Saints led the Eagles, 26-14.
Lohr continued to press on the offensive end, notching a shot from beyond the arc to open the half, and extend the Saints' lead to 15. The blue and white maintained a commanding lead, bolstering their biggest lead of the game at the 1:48 mark. Freshman Gabriella Haddad drove the ball in for a layup to extend their lead to 19, 42-23. The Saints ended the quarter on top, 42-21.
In the fourth quarter, both teams traded points early on, before the Eagles rallied back to cut the deficit to 10 at just under five minutes to play. The Saints kept their composure through the remaining five minutes. Down the stretch, Mary Washington was forced to foul and put the Saints on the line where MU answered, sinking 7-of-8 of its free-throw attempts in the final minute of play. The blue and white went on to defeat the Eagles, 69-57.
A notable difference in the game came from the stellar defense by Marymount. The Saints converted 20-points from forced turnovers, while notching nine steals and adding four points on the fast break.
Hurst performed well for the Saints, notching a game-high 17 points, just one-point shy of tying her career high. Hurst also posted seven assists and four steals, while shooting 4-for-6 from the floor, and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. McQueen, Viscuso, and Lohr each added double-digit points for the Saints with 11, 12, and 10, in that order.
Marymount will round out its regular season against Penn State University-Harrisburg in a CAC showdown on Saturday, February 18. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.