FOND DU LAC, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – Sophomore guard Sarah Albert scored 22 points in her Sabre debut and the Marian University women's basketball team cruised to a 73-49 victory over Lawrence University in its season and home opener at Sadoff Gymnasium this evening, Nov. 16.

Albert, a transfer from St. Norbert, shot 8-of-12 from the floor, knocking down six-of-eight from three-point range to fuel the big win for the Sabres. Marian used double-digit scoring runs to start each half and it never looked back as it held the Vikings to just 28.6 percent (16-of-56) from the field.

MU moves to 1-0 with the opening night victory, while Lawrence falls to 0-1.

After a 12-0 run to start the game, the Sabres did one better coming out of halftime, putting together a 13-0 spurt to grow the already comfortable lead to 31 points, 51-20. Albert scored the first five points of the second half after a 12-point first period to pace the run for the Sabres.

Marian led by as many as 32 points after an Alexis Becker layup at the 9:11 mark to make it 62-30. The lead wouldn't drop below 20 points the entire second half as the Sabres controlled from start to finish.

Marian shot 44.3 percent (27-for-61) for the game, including 35.5 percent (11-of-31) from three-point land. Alyssa Pyscher was the only other player in double-figures for the Sabres with 11 points. She added five rebounds and two blocks as well.

Kayla Rowley chipped in six points and eight rebounds in just 13 minutes off the bench, while junior Bianca Whittington posted six points, six rebounds and three assists in the win. Amber Lisowe scored 20 points to lead the Vikings.

The Sabres jumped out to a 12-0 lead to start the first half before leading wire-to-wire. Marian was led by Albert's 12 first half points on four made three's. As a team, the Sabres connected on 6-of-15 from downtown and shot 43.8 percent from the floor overall. The Vikings were held to just 28 percent shooting in the first half as they trailed 38-20 at the break.

Marian will hit the road and travel to St. Louis, Mo. to take part in a tournament hosted by Webster University. The Sabres will play Rust College in the opener on Friday at 6 p.m. before taking on host Webster on Saturday at 3 p.m.