Jenna McRae leads Mary Washington in scoring, but the Eagles continue to play suffocating defense, allowing just 41 points per game. Mary Washington athletics photo

Jenna McRae admits her career at the University of Mary Washington has been a roller coaster ride at times, including the difficult low of falling in the semifinal round of the 2011 Capital Athletic Conference tournament.

“We (the seniors) have had a lot of ups and downs over our four years at UMW, and we ended last season on a really sour note,” McRae said. “So we wanted to come into this season leaving it all out on the court.”

The different attitude has worked. And it's a new court, as Mary Washington finally got out of cramped Goolrick Hall and into a state-of-the-art facility. As we get set to wave goodbye to January, McRae and the Eagles are unbeaten through 20 games. A lot of it has to do with talent, especially the play of McRae, a senior guard who is clicking for 13.6 points per game.

But the phenomenal run of success also has to do with the mental aspect of the game. McRae and her teammates believe in each other. They know the road ends this season, be it in the conference tourney or at some point in March.

So playing as if there is no tomorrow is the only way to go. It’s why the Eagles are No. 11 in the country and poised to accomplish something special.

“Coming into our senior season, my fellow seniors and I had a this-is-it kind of attitude,” McRae said. “This is our last year to do it; we never really defined what ‘it’ is. But I think at the end of the season we will all know whether we accomplished it or not.”

McRae has played a pivotal role for the Eagles. She is coming off back-to-back weeks of being named the Capital Athletic Conference Player of the Week and is shooting 47.1 percent from the field this season. McRae has knocked down 29 three-pointers as well.

She also averages 5.2 rebounds per game, has tallied 52 assists and has racked up 17 steals.

The work she put in during the offseason has certainly helped her cause. Yet, it’s the intangible of leadership, something you can’t coach or really teach, that has been so important to her success.

“I think my biggest improvement over my four years is my leadership and communication with my teammates,” McRae said. “I’ve been a captain for three years, and the past couple of years I was more of a lead-by-example captain. I think I am still that, but now I’ve added being more vocal on and off the court.”

The Anderson Center replaces decades-old Goolrick Hall and is suitable for hosting a sectional round in women's or men's basketball. Mary Washington athletics file photo

As far as being a scoring threat goes, the reason for her ability to put up big numbers on a given night has a lot to do with the fact that she has teammates who can often make opponents forget about her on the floor.

“Truthfully, the reason I can score some big numbers some nights is because of my teammates,” McRae said. “They take a lot of attention off myself and Katie Wimmer when they are playing well offensively, and it just makes it easier for us to get into a good rhythm. Our offense is at its best when we are looking to set each other up. When my teammates are giving me great passes, it’s not hard to knock down those shots.”

Of course, hard work has been beneficial to McRae as well.

“In the offseason, I worked on my shooting like I always have,” McRae said. “I worked more specifically on my three-pointers, but also just being more confident in my shot.”

McRae definitely shoots with confidence. Five times this season, the senior has poured in 19 or more points, including dropping in 20 or more four times. She has scored 23 points twice and 20 points on two other occasions.

Mary Washington is averaging 63.5 points per outing while allowing 41.

“We really take pride in being able to hold teams to 40 points on a consistent basis. We work every day on our defense in practice so when we get on the floor for games we all move together as one unit,” McRae said. “Sure, we make adjustments based on the matchups and the teams we play, but our core defensive principles are what lead to our success.”

Five games remain in the regular season and the Eagles are on the cusp of heading into the conference tournament without a loss.

A year ago, Mary Washington finished 20-6.

While it would be easy to become consumed with the pressure of being unbeaten, McRae said the team won’t let it become a problem. It’s all about attitude.

“Being undefeated is something we are all very proud of, but it’s not the only thing we are looking to accomplish this season,” McRae said. “I think our light attitude towards it helps keep the pressure away. We’re in a great spot and we have to keep pushing each other to never settle. If we do that then we will be where we need to be when it comes tourney time. We’re definitely looking to make some noise this year.”

Noteworthy

Jon Salandra was the named the Centennial Conference Player of the Week for the first time in his career this week.

The sophomore guard helped Franklin and Marshall win both of its games last week, shooting a blistering 85 percent from the field while averaging 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

His highlight performance came in a 65-40 win over Johns Hopkins. Salandra torched the Blue Jays for 24 points and also pulled down 10 rebounds.

Salandra has been crucial to the success of the eighth-ranked Diplomats this season. He has started in 17 of the 19 games Franklin and Marshall has played and is averaging 10.1 points per outing. He is second on the team in rebounds at 5.1 per game and has gotten it done on defense as well, racking up 28 steals.

Clemons keeps Cougars rolling: Kean’s women’s basketball team is still perfect in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The No. 21 Cougars raised their league record to 9-0 with a 93-45 win over New Jersey City on Saturday, continuing to win during a tumultuous season that included the coach getting dismissed mid-year.

The Cougars got the job done with a balanced attack as five players scored in double figures. Namiah Clemons led the way with 25 points while Gabrielle Rivera scored 18 points.

Brittney Powell had a solid game. She scored 13 points, dished out five assists and tallied five steals. And then there was Brittanie Payne, who nearly had a triple-double, pouring in eight points to go along with 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Kean is 18-3 on the season and has won its last three games, holding two of those three opponents to under 60 points. Clemons has led the Cougars in scoring in all three of those games and is averaging 23.4 points per outing.

Gordon on a roll for Juniata: Alyssa Gordon has picked up momentum offensively and has led Juniata in scoring the last two games.

Gordon dropped in 15 points as she missed on only one of her eight attempts from the field as the Eagles picked up a 57-41 win over Merchant Marine Academy Saturday in a Landmark Conference encounter.

The performance comes on the heels of a 20-point effort in a 58-54 win on Friday over Drew.

Both games were close, but Gordon made sure the Eagles improved to 19-1 overall and to 9-0 in the conference.

The junior forward is currently averaging 8.2 points per outing and has been solid shooting the ball, hitting 53.6 percent of her shots.

Quick hits

Kenneth Hardnett of Keystone provided the Giants with a lift in a pair of games last week. The senior from Florida dropped in 19 points and pulled down 18 rebounds in a 100-82 win over Gwynedd-Mercy. He also dished out six assists and tallied two steals and two blocks. In a 100-57 win over Philadelphia Biblical, Hardnett poured in 16 points and tallied seven steals for a Keystone team that is averaging 90.4 points per outing. ... Meredith Mesaris has only been at Scranton for a few weeks, but she has the ability to rise to the occasion on any given night. In a 66-55 win over Goucher on Saturday, Mesaris scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, the first double-double of her career. She transferred in from Division I American at the semester. ... The Mount St. Mary men’s basketball team had a chance to gain ground in the Skyline Conference standings but lost to first-place Farmingdale State 76-55 on Saturday. The Knights (13-5, 8-3) got as close as 43-41 in the second half after trailing 36-19 at halftime but were doomed by 30.7 percent shooting against the Rams (14-4, 10-1). Kevin Milella scored 18 points in the setback. ... It was a tough night for Baruch shooting the basketball in a 63-45 loss to Mount Saint Mary in a women’s basketball game. The Bearcats shot only 21.4 percent in the first half and never recovered. Iyana Abrams scored 11 points and four assists in the loss.