St. Mary's City, Md. – A combined sixty-seven turnovers were committed by the St. Mary's College of Maryland women's basketball team and Marymount (Va.) University in Capital Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon. The Marymount Saints survived the turnovers and edged St. Mary's with the 61-54 league decision.
Senior Joanna Murray (Reisterstown, Md./Franklin) paced the Seahawks with 14 points as Murray went 6-for-6 at the free throw line while adding three assists and three steals. Junior Sophie Pruden (Carrboro, N.C./Chapel Hill) led her team's 42-34 rebounding margin over Marymount with nine boards while contributing 11 points and two blocks.
The first half belonged to St. Mary's (4-3, 0-2 CAC) as the Seahawks posted a 26-21 halftime advantage. After a senior guard Katelyn Fischer (Reisterstown, Md./Seton Keough) layup at 11:48 returned the lead to Marymount, the hosts closed out the half on a 14-8 run to own the five-point lead at intermission. Junior forward Marché Pearson (Baltimore, Md./Laurel) notched six of St. Mary's final eight points in the run.
Senior forward Taylor Petrisko (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) and Pearson combined for 14 points and eight caroms to pace the Seahawks in the first 20 minutes. Fourteen of St. Mary's first-half points came off of 18 Saint turnovers while a 10-5 edge in offensive boards led to 10 second-chance points.
The Seahawks scored the first five points of the second stanza to extend their lead to 31-21 at 18:30 before Marymount used a 13-2 run to claim the lead for good at 13:29 behind first-year guard Anna Lies' (Springfield, N.J./Dayton) layup.
The Saints (6-3, 2-0 CAC) capitalized on St. Mary's 22 second-half miscues, converting them to 23 points as Marymount outscored the Seahawks 40-28 in the final 20 minutes. The visitors shot 46.4% from the field in the second half while making 13-of-23 free throws. St. Mary's struggled from the three-point line, making just 3-of-18 for the game.
Petrisko and Pearson both finished with eight points for the Seahawks while Pearson hauled in a season-best seven rebounds for the second consecutive time. Fischer, the CAC's second-leading scorer, led the Saints with 18 points while senior forward Tynisha Parks (Lorton, Va./Hayfield SS) collected a double-double on 11 points and 10 boards.
St. Mary's will be back in action on Tuesday, December 11 when the Seahawks welcome Division II Washington Adventist University to the Michael P. O'Brien Athletics & Recreation Center Arena for non-conference action at 6:00 pm.
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