BUENA VISTA, Va. – A third-quarter surge boosted the No. 21 Marymount women's basketball team to its ninth-consecutive victory on Wednesday night, topping Southern Virginia University, 86-71, in CAC competition to move to 13-0 in the league. 

With four ties and five lead changes, the Knights put up a fight through three quarters of play, drawing the game even at 51-51 midway through the third. However, the Saints (18-2, 13-0 CAC) caught fire with a 19-5 run through the final six minutes of the third quarter to take a comfortable 14-point advantage into the final frame. 

The third quarter played out in favor of the Saints, 25-13, as MU held SVU to 16 points or less in three of the four quarters. The Knights outscored Marymount, 27-23, in the second quarter, trailing by just two at the half, 45-43. 

Marymount worked more on their inside game for the night, only taking four attempts from beyond the arc while scoring 48 points in the paint. For the game, the Saints shot 42.4 percent from the floor, as their team average sits at 44.6 percent for the season, a statistic good enough to rank atop the conference and 18th in the country. 

On the defensive end, they forced the Knights into 27 turnovers and converted 24 points. Of the turnovers, the Saints registered 20 steals led by a career-high six by freshman Aidan Phillips. Senior Leah Hurst and junior Tyffani McQueen also were critical on the defensive end with five and four steals, respectively. For the season, the Saints have forced the most steals all season from the Knights, totaling 42 in the two games. 

Hurst paced the Saints on the offensive end with 20 points, the second time this season and her career with at least 20 points. She added a game-high five assists and six rebounds. McQueen led the team in rebounds with seven. 

Also having double-figure scoring nights were sophomore Regan Lohr (17), senior Nicole Viscuso (15) and sophomore Gabriella Haddad (12), while McQueen chipped in eight. Off the bench, freshmen Phillips, Taylor Love and Kathryn Ryan totaled 14 points led by Love's seven. 

The women will continue on the road this weekend, traveling to No. 12 Christopher Newport for a Top-25 showdown and a critical game in league play between the top two squads. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m., in Newport News, Virginia.