SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University women's basketball team continued its hot start to the 2021 season, trouncing Virginia Wesleyan 75-41 on Saturday afternoon at the Maggs Physical Activities Center.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Salisbury opened the game on a 10-0 scoring run over the first three-plus minutes, capped when Amber Onyekwere found Lauren Fortescue on a fastbreak for an easy layup. The Sea Gulls cooled off over the rest of the first quarter but VWU was only able to cut the deficit to 16-8.
• The Sea Gulls turned on the jets in the second, outscoring the Marlins 22-4 to take a 38-12 lead into the break. SU started the quarter on an 11-0 run, capped by an Onyekwere layup at the 4:29 mark to make it a 27-8 game.
• After a VWU bucket, Salisbury went on a 7-0 run over a minute and a half to extend the lead to 34-10 with 2:18 till halftime. Fortescue scored eight in the quarter, punctuating it with a three-pointer with just over a minute till the half.
• SU shot 9-of-16 in the second and held VWU to just 1-for-11 from the floor.
• A strong Sea Gull third quarter ended any hopes of a Marlin comeback. With Salisbury up 44-16 at the 5:08 mark, Kylie Webb took a feed from Fortescue for a layup. Thirty seconds later, an Ashlynn Burrows steal set up another Webb layup and an and-one to push the Sea Gull lead to over 30. A triple from Kolby Brown with 20 seconds to go made it 58-24 SU at the end of the third.
• Salisbury emptied the bench in the fourth quarter, using 10 players and giving the starters a rest. Catherine Gibson and Hailey Ader combined for 10 of the Sea Gulls' 17 points in the final period.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Lauren Fortescue filled the stat sheet with a game-high 16 points (6-for-11), plus four rebounds, five assists and two steals.
• Six other Sea Gulls contributed six points or more in a balanced scoring attack. Kylie Webb and Kolby Brown each scored eight points while Kaylee Otlowski and Amber Onyekwere added seven apiece. Emily Dilger and Catherine Gibson chipped in six points each.
• SU shot 35.9 percent (28-of-78) from the floor, taking 28 more shots than Virginia Wesleyan and holding the Marlins to 32 percent (16-of-50) shooting. The Sea Gulls rolled in the rebounding margin, 52-37.
• Onyekwere led a Salisbury defense that smothered the Marlins from the get-go. Onyekwere tallied five of the Sea Gulls' 19 steals on the day. The Sea Gulls forced a whopping 32 VWU turnovers, winning the turnover margin by 18.
• All 17 of Salisbury's healthy players registered at least four minutes in the game. All but four registered at least one point.

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN GAME NOTES

• S'Zahria Jones led the way for the Marlins with 10 points (4-of-12) and four rebounds.
• Adaje Williams added six points and hauled in 10 rebounds.
• The Marlins used just eight players on the day, fewer than half of the 17 who saw action for Salisbury.

UP NEXT

• Salisbury now hits the road for four straight games, starting on Tuesday night with a showdown at Lancaster Bible College.
• The matchup will be the first of two against LBC this season, with the Sea Gulls hosting the Chargers on Saturday, Feb. 13.
• Tip from the Horst Athletic Center in Lancaster, Pa., is set for 6 p.m.