ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University women's basketball team came away with a convincing 92-58 victory over Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) rival Notre Dame of Maryland University on Tuesday evening.
AAliya Hayes led the way for Neumann, registering 23 points, seven rebounds and six steals in the win. Lauren Legler chipped in with 17 points, going 5-for-8 from three-point range. Nafisa Saunders (16 points) and Shauntel Williams (13 points) also scored in double figures for the Knights.
The first half would not start smoothly for the host Knights as they struggled to find a rhythm, shooting just 27.9% from the field. The sloppy first half would see Neumann trailing the visiting Gators at halftime by a score of 34-31. Saunders led the way for the Knights in the opening half with 11 points.
It would be a tale of two halves for Neumann on the evening, as the 3rd quarter saw the Knights come alive. Neumann would start the half on fire, using high pressure to cause several early Gator turnovers that led to an 18-0 run to open the quarter. The Knights would not stop there, keeping their foot on the pedal to close out the quarter outscoring Notre Dame by a count of 41-10. Led by Hayes' 17 points in the quarter, Neumann would shoot 62.5% from the field in the frame and head to the fourth quarter up 72-44.
The fourth quarter would see the Knights continue to dominate, led by Legler's 11 points. Neumann would increase its lead to as much as 37 in the quarter and would cruise to a comfortable 92-58 win.
Neumann (5-5, 1-1 CSAC) is right back in action on Thursday, January 5th as it heads to conference rival Cabrini University for a rematch of last season's CSAC championship game. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 PM.