Salisbury Women’s Basketball powers through Eastern, 71-53

SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University women's basketball team used contributions up and down the lineup to get back to 10 games over .500 with a 71-53 win over the Eastern Eagles on Friday afternoon at Maggs PAC.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Sea Gulls missed their first 10 shots of the game, allowing the Eagles to take a 9-0 lead by the 6:20 mark of the first quarter. Brynn Schmidt's jumper capped the nine-point opening flourish for EU.
• Salisbury found its stroke at the 5:15 mark as Kylie Webb connected from distance. Abby Wilkinson followed it up soon after with her own three to cut it to 9-6.
• Down 13-8 with 1:42 left in the quarter, Emily Dilger found Wilkinson for a layup, sparking a 10-2 SU run. Kolby Brown and Wilkinson converted back-to-back three-point plays, then Brown sank a midrange jumper to put the Sea Gulls on top 18-15 as the first came to an end.
• Dilger opened the second quarter with a jumper, then Ashlynn Burrows hit a field goal and Wilkinson sank a pair of free throws to make it a 7-0 SU run and 24-15 lead at the 7:35 mark.
• On top 27-21 with 5:35 until halftime, Jada Welbon drained a triple to make it 30-21. The Sea Gulls added two more with 2-of-4 free throws over the next two minutes, then Dilger hit a layup and Tori Rumbaugh knocked down back-to-back treys to make it 40-21 Sea Gulls at the 1:58 mark and force an EU timeout.
• The teams traded buckets over the final two minutes of the second, and Lauren Fortescue found Sym Deloatch inside as the clock expired, giving Salisbury a 45-25 cushion at the break.
• After Kayla Jefferson got the Eagles on the board early in the third quarter, Kaylee Otlowski made a layup and followed with another easy bucket two possessions later, making it 49-27 Salisbury at the 7:17 mark. Ashya Gaddy answered for EU with a jumper, but Dilger nailed a step-back jumper to get it back to 51-29.
• The teams traded buckets over the rest of the quarter, then in the final minute Rumbaugh hit a pair of free throws. Jaelyn Harris hit a floater at the buzzer for the Eagles, and SU's lead stood at 57-38 after three.
• Camila Sosa opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play for Eastern, but Otlowski answered on Salisbury's next possession and got three more on a hoop and a harm. Otlowski hit another bucket moments later for a personal 7-0 run to rebuild the Sea Gull advantage to 64-41 with 7:22 to go.
• Salisbury emptied its bench over the final portion of the fourth and the Eagles shaved their deficit down to 68-43 at the 1:49 mark, but the result was never in doubt. Catherine Gibson hit one-of-two at the line, and Caitlin Reed's second-chance layup in the final minute gave the game its final 71-53 margin.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Kaylee Otlowski led a balanced Sea Gull attack with 11 points, including seven straight early in the fourth quarter. Otlowski hit 5-of-11 from the floor and hauled in nine rebounds.
• Abby Wilkinson netted 10 points off the bench, all in the first half, and dished out four assists.
• Six other Salisbury players scored at least five points in the game. Emily Dilger and Tori Rumbaugh each went for nine points, while Ashlynn Burrows and Lauren Fortescue put up six points apiece and Kolby Brown and Jada Welbon added five each.
• Fourteen Sea Gulls saw action in the game with all but two scoring.
• The Sea Gulls connected on 47.3 percent (26-of-55) of their field goals, including 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) from downtown.
• SU made 76.5 percent (13-of-17) of their free throw attempts, taking 17 chances at the stripe to Eastern's one.
• After missing their first 10 attempts, Salisbury shot 68.1 percent (15-of-22) from the floor to close the first half, including a staggering 8-of-11 (4-of-5 3PT) in the second quarter alone. The Sea Gulls outscored Eastern 45-16 over the final 15:15 of the first half.
• Salisbury doubled up the Eagles on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 46-22 and 14-6 on the offensive end.
• The Sea Gulls shared the ball well, assisting on 19 of their 26 buckets. Fortescue and Wilkinson distributed four assists each, while Welbon added three helpers.

EASTERN GAME NOTES

• Jaelyn Harris and Ashya Gaddy each scored 12 points to share the Eagle team lead.
• Taryn Woodson went for 10 points (5-of-12) and five boards.
• The Eagles shot 39.7 percent (25-of-63) for the game, going just 2-of-10 (20 percent) from downtown. Camila Sosa made EU's lone free throw attempt.
• Eastern forced 19 SU turnovers and gave the ball away just 10 times. EU managed 10 steals on the game.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls turn the calendar to February with a home matchup against Washington Adventist on Tuesday.
• Tuesday's game will serve as a Senior Day celebration for Salisbury's five seniors: Lauren Fortescue, Kaylee Otlowski, Caitlin Reed, Kylie Webb and Jada Welbon.
• Tipoff from Maggs PAC is set for 7 p.m. with coverage on the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) beginning at 6:45 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, 186 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.