YORK, Pa. – The Marymount University women's basketball team sealed up a key road victory on Saturday afternoon, toppling York (Pa.), 61-33, to claim the lone spot at the top of the Capital Athletic Conference with the only remaining unblemished record of 6-0.
The Saints (11-2, 6-0 CAC), who trailed through the first 10 minutes 12-8, used a 17-2 second quarter to put the Spartans (11-2, 5-1 CAC) behind for the remainder of the game, eventually building up to their largest lead of 28 by the final whistle.
A defensive matchup held the game scoreless through the first four minutes before YCP dropped in the opening basket of the game. York maintained the advantage through to the first break, but the Saints only fell behind six points before hitting their stride in the second quarter.
Trailing 12-8 to open the 10-minute stretch before the half, sophomore Leah Hurst got the MU offense rolling on its 17-point quarter with an offensive rebound and finish at the rim to put them within two of the Spartans. The buckets kept rolling for the blue and white, knocking in 15 unanswered points before York hit their only basket for the quarter at the 1:14 mark. SophomoreNicole Viscuso put the final touch on the 17-2 quarter, dropping in a strong layup to send the Saints in at the break up 25-14.
Through the 10 minutes, Viscuso and Hurst paced the offense with six points apiece, while seniorKievanna Lacey and freshman Tyffani McQueen chipped in three and two, respectively.
The second half picked right back up where the Saints left off, scoring seven-straight points before the Spartans found the basket. Senior Miranda Krott paced the early surge with five of the seven points. By the end of the third quarter, MU built up a comfortable lead, taking an 18-point advantage into the final 10 minutes following a buzzer beater by McQueen off a deep jumper.
Viscuso opened up the fourth quarter with a jumper to reach the 20-point lead, and it continued to grow to 28 by the final bucket of the game off a tough layup by freshman Abbegail Whildin, her first collegiate points.
The Saints shot an impressive 46.3 percent from the floor for the game, while holding the Spartans to a season-low 28.6 percent and 25 turnovers.
The offense was led by a game-high 14 points by Viscuso, who still maintains the top spot in the conference for scoring with 15.5 points per game. Krott notched her second double-double in the past three games with 10 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with her game-high five steals. Lacey and McQueen both had double-figure scoring games as well, knocking in 11 and 10, in that order.
With the victory, Marymount extends its win streak to eight games. The women will look to keep the streak alive on Wednesday, January 13, as they welcome Penn State University-Harrisburg to the Verizon Sports Arena for another conference tilt. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.