Salisbury, Md. – The 2012-13 St. Mary's College of Maryland women's basketball campaign came to a close Tuesday night in the first round of the Capital Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. The fifth-seeded Seahawks dropped a 54-44 decision at No. 4 seed Salisbury University.
Tonight's game featured eight lead changes and seven tied scores and only a 16-3 run in the middle of the second half gave Salisbury (15-11) the necessary push for the win. The Sea Gulls now advance to Thursday night's semifinal match up at top-seeded Marymount (Va.) University.
Second-year head coach Crystal Gibson and her Seahawks end the year with an overall record of 10-13 (4-8 CAC), marking the third straight 10-win season.
Junior center Sophie Pruden (Carrboro, N.C./Chapel Hill) paced St. Mary's in the game with team-highs of 18 points and nine rebounds while fellow classmate Marché Pearson (Baltimore, Md./Laurel) tallied 14 points, five boards, two assists and two steals.
The Seahawk trio of Pruden, senior forward Taylor Petrisko (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake), and senior guard Joanna Murray (Reisterstown, Md./Franklin) combined for half of the team's 46 rebounds as St. Mary's dominated the glass with a 46-37 margin.
A three-point play by senior guard Jasmine Jones (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) capped a 14-7 run that put the Seahawks ahead, 36-32, with 13:28 remaining in regulation. Salisbury responded with a 16-3 run over a nine-minute span to return the lead in SU's favor for good, 48-39, with 3:34 left in the contest. The Sea Gulls helped their cause with an 11-of-15 effort at the line during the second half.
Sophomore guard Anna Hackett (Germantown, Md.) paced all scorers with 20 points as Hackett was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line while first-year forward Julia McLaughlin (Monkton, Md.) posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 caroms.
In the first half, the Seahawks were down 16-10 with seven minutes left until halftime. However, junior center Myeisha Wallace (West River, Md./Southern Senior) sparked a 10-2 run that was capped by a Pearson jumper to give St. Mary's a two-point lead at 3:29. The Sea Gulls closed out the half on a 7-2 run to own a 25-22 halftime advantage.
Pruden led all players at intermission with 10 points and seven rebounds while McLaughlin paced Salisbury with nine points, five boards, three blocks and two steals.
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