SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University women's basketball team was sunk by a big fourth quarter from the Catholic University Cardinals, falling 66-51 on Tuesday night at Maggs PAC.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Lauren Fortescue drilled a pair of early three-pointers to put the Sea Gulls up 6-2 at the 7:15 mark of the first quarter. The score stayed frozen until the 4:54 mark when Ashlynn Burrows hit two free throws, then Burrows sailed in for a layup to make it 10-2 Salisbury with 3:58 to go in the opening period.
• The Cardinals got themselves back into it on a run started by a Molly Aromando three-pointer at the 3:09 mark. Amanda Johnson followed with a layup, then Erin Doherty drained two from the foul line to make it a 7-0 CUA run and cut the SU lead to 10-9. After the teams traded free throws, Doherty worked her way inside for a three-point play, tying the score at 14-14 as the first quarter came to an end.
• After the teams exchanged blows early in the second quarter, Emily Dilger took a feed inside from Burrows and made a layup to put Salisbury on top 20-18 at the 7:02 mark. Fortescue hit a jay on SU's next possession, and after a two-minute dry spell Burrows found Dilger for another layup, pushing the Sea Gull lead to 24-18 with 4:28 before halftime.
• Catholic stormed back late in the quarter. Luca Mamula hit two from the charity stripe to stop the Sea Gull run, then Aromando drained a trey at the 2:41 mark to make it a one-point game. Rachel Bussanich gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game with a second-chance layup at the 1:05 mark, making it 25-24 CUA.
• After Fortescue missed a triple on the Sea Gulls' next possession, Jada Welbon hauled in the offensive rebound, and Hailey Ader sank a layup to put SU back up 26-25 with 44 seconds to go. Both teams had possessions to end the half but could not convert, and the Sea Gulls went into the locker room with a one-point cushion.
• The teams stayed within one possession of each other throughout a hotly-contested third quarter. After Johnson opened proceedings with a layup, Dilger answered with a layup of her own, then Johnson struck back with two free throws to put the Cardinals on top 29-28 at the 7:30 mark.
• Welbon answered with a three at the 5:59 mark to regain the lead for the Sea Gulls, but Bussanich's layup evened things up at 31-31. That began a stretch of six straight CUA points for Bussanich, who soon after made two free throws and answered Fortescue's jumper with a jay of her own to make it 35-33 Cardinals with 4:15 to go in the third.
• After each side made a pair from the charity stripe, Burrows tied it at 37-37 with a jumper at the 2:39 mark. The Cardinals and Sea Gulls each scored on their next possession, then Catholic went up 41-39 on a Doherty jumper. Catherine Gibson responded for the Sea Gulls with a corner pocket three to put SU ahead 42-41 at the 1:32 mark.
• Salisbury made three-of-four from the line over the final minute of the period, canceling out a Carly Mulvaney triple to take a 45-44 lead into the final session.
• The teams traded buckets in the first minute-and-a-half of the fourth, then CUA recaptured a 49-47 lead on an and-one layup from Bussanich at the 8:09 mark. From there the Cardinals got a full head of steam – Johnson connected from distance to make it 52-47, then Mamula made it an 8-0 run with a jumper at the 6:53 mark, putting Catholic ahead 54-47.
• Ader stopped the bleeding for Salisbury with a layup, but the Cardinals turned around and cashed in on a 6-0 run. Doherty hit two buckets in a row, and Bussanich slithered inside for a layup to make it 60-49 Catholic with 3:24 to go.
• Welbon found Burrows for a jumper at the 2:59 mark to make it 60-51, but that was the last Sea Gull bucket, and the Cardinals closed on a 6-0 run to finish off a 66-51 road victory.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Ashlynn Burrows led the Sea Gulls off the bench with 13 points (4-of-12). She also led the team in rebounds (six) and tied for the team lead in assists (four) over 32 minutes of action.
• Lauren Fortescue played all 40 minutes and scored in double figures for the fourth straight game to open the season, netting 12 points (5-of-14) to go along with four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
• Emily Dilger added 12 points of her own on 5-of-9 shooting.
• Jada Welbon chipped in five points and handed out three assists.
• The Sea Gulls shot 35.2 percent (19-of-54) from the floor and 75 percent (9-of-12) from the free throw line. SU has made 75 percent or more of its free throws three times in its first four games.
• Salisbury was outrebounded 32-24 but won the battle on the offensive glass 9-8.
• SU's eight steals were a season low; the Sea Gulls forced 18 CUA turnovers against 14 giveaways of their own.

CATHOLIC GAME NOTES

• Amanda Johnson narrowly missed a double-double, tying for the Cardinals' team lead with 15 points (3-of-8) and nine rebounds. Johnson went a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe.
• Rachel Bussanich made her own bid for a double-double with 13 points (5-of-11) and eight boards, including four off the offensive glass.
• Erin Doherty came off the bench for 15 points (5-of-12) and three steals in 28 minutes of work, while Luca Mamula netted 10 points in 18 minutes as a substitute.
• The Cardinals shot 45.7 (21-of-46) from the floor and made all 20 of their free throw attempts for the game.
• CUA outfoxed the Sea Gulls 22-6 in the fourth quarter, hitting 57.1 percent of their shots and holding SU to 3-of-13 shooting over the final 10 minutes.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will welcome in Goucher on Saturday for their second of four straight home games.
• Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. with coverage beginning on the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) at 1:45 p.m.

Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 22 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 186 conference championships and 41 Academic All-Americans.

To learn more about the tradition of excellence with Sea Gull Athletics, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.