GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – Unfazed by the quick turnaround from Friday night's contest, the Salisbury University women's basketball team rebounded to crush the Penn State Lehigh Valley Nittany Lions, 73-52, as part of the Gwynedd Mercy Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday afternoon at The Griffin Complex.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After an initial scrum that saw the teams tied 4-4 over the first two-plus minutes, Lauren Fortescue connected on a three-pointer to put the Sea Gulls on top 7-4 at the 7:14 mark of the first quarter. That kicked off a 9-0 spurt over the next 2:08 that featured another Fortescue triple and an Ashlynn Burrows and-one that put SU in control 13-4.
• The Nittany Lions rallied for the next six in a row, with Anaya White's layup cutting the deficit to 13-10 at the 2:30 mark. Abby Wilkinson answered with a jumper and Fortescue drained another trey, building the SU cushion to 18-10 to close the first quarter.
• The second quarter belong to Emily Dilger, who sank a layup on Salisbury's first possession and proceeded to score the Sea Gulls' next six points and nine of their next eleven. By the time Dilger converted an and-one at the 2:48 mark, the SU lead had ballooned to 29-15.
• The Sea Gulls kept their foot on the gas to close out the quarter. Tori Rumbaugh and Wilkinson combined for three free throws, then Wilkinson landed a jumper that made it 34-15 with 2:06 to go. After Raynah Young's three that stopped the Nittany Lion bleeding, Dilger found Hailey Ader for a layup, and Wilkinson drained a couple more free throws to make it 38-18 with 54 seconds until the half.
• PSU-LV scored five straight in the final minute of the half, but three Sea Gull free throws boosted the advantage to 41-23 at the break.
• Dilger kept the beat going with a layup early in the third, then Fortescue and Dilger hit layups to put the Sea Gulls up 47-25, followed by a pair of Otlowski baskets to make it 51-25 with 5:42 to go in the period.
• PSU-Lehigh Valley converted five straight points to get it back to 51-30 at the 3:04 mark, but SU closed the third on a 5-1 push, capped by another Dilger jumper to make it 56-31.
• The Sea Gulls fortified their lead as high as 29 points in the fourth quarter, with Dilger converting a second-chance layup that made it 68-39 with 4:48 to go. The Nittany Lions clawed their way back late in the fourth after Salisbury emptied its bench, but it was far too little, too late, and SU wrapped things up with a 21-point margin at 73-52.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Emily Dilger erupted for a career-high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead the Sea Gulls on offense. Dilger also hauled in eight rebounds, blocked two shots and grabbed two steals.
• Kaylee Otlowski missed her second double-double of the season by one rebound, going for 16 points (8-of-14) and nine boards, along with four assists, three blocks and two steals.
• Abby Wilkinson came off the bench for a career-high 12 points, including 8-of-10 from the free throw line, in 14 minutes of work. Wilkinson also managed a pair of steals.
• Lauren Fortescue knocked down three treys in the first quarter and finished with 11 points, going 3-of-7 from deep, to give SU four double digit scorers on the day.
• Salisbury connected on 37 percent (27-of-73) of its shots and went 16-of-21 (76.2 percent) from the charity stripe.
• The Sea Gulls outrebounded the Nittany Lions 46-34 overall and 16-8 on the offensive glass. SU forced 26 turnovers for a plus-seven margin.

PSU LEHIGH VALLEY GAME NOTES

• Gabby Giracello led the Nittany Lions with nine points off the bench, hitting 2-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the line in 18 minutes.
• Samantha Columna and Jah'nel Oliver scored seven and six points, respectively, giving PSU-LV its top three scorers off the bench.
• PSU Lehigh Valley shot 30.2 percent (19-of-63) from the floor and went 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) from the line.
• The Nittany Lions matched the Sea Gulls with 12 steals. Columna and Anaya White each accounted for three swipes.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls now return to Salisbury for the first of four home games in a row, starting with their home opener on Tuesday night against Catholic.
• Tipoff from the Maggs PAC is set for 6 p.m. with coverage on the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) beginning at 5:45 p.m.

Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 22 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 184 conference championships and 41 Academic All-Americans.

To learn more about the tradition of excellence with Sea Gull Athletics, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.