SHENANDOAH, Va.— The Marymount (Va.) University women's basketball team cruised by Shenandoah University on Monday afternoon, improving to 7-2 overall with the 60-44 victory heading into the holiday break.
The Saints jumped ahead early in the first quarter following a 12-0 run, led by senior Kiki Laux who registered four points during the stretch. Stiffling defense through the run kept Shenandoah off the scoreboard for the first four minutes of play until the first basket was cashed in on from behind the arc. Laux quickly answered and sophomore Tyffani McQueen knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the Saints lead to 16-3. The blue and white finished out the quarter ahead, 20-6.
Junior Nicole Viscuso hit a jumper two minutes into the second quarter to push the lead, as MU continued to pull ahead and carry a 35-15 advantage to the locker room. Laux and Viscuso paced the Saints on the offensive end registering eight points apiece. Marymount pressured Shenandoah on the defensive end heavily with sophomore Leah Hurst and McQueen nabbing four and three steals, respectively.
Marymount held its composure and continued to pull ahead in the third quarter, registering another four points before Shenandoah answered, 39-15. The Saints fed the ball inside throughout the quarter to add 10 points from the paint. At the end of the quarter Marymount led, 51-28.
In the final ten minutes of regulation, MU maintained control until the final buzzer, prevailing 60-44. Viscuso pieced together an impressive performance all around, registering a game-high 17 points, after knocking down 8-of-10 from the field. Hurst bolstered a notable performance notching seven points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Saints.
As a team, the Saints shot 46.9% from the field, while going 12-for-14 at the line, and out rebounded the Hornets, 36-28. MU looked inside to notch 42 points from within the paint.
The women will be back in action for the two-day Music City Classic in Nashville, Tennessee starting Thursday, December 29. Tip-off against Lynchburg College is set for 12 p.m,. followed by a matchup with Castleton University at 2 p.m., the following day.