SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University women's basketball team held off a late charge to seal its third straight win, downing the Rowan Profs, 79-74, on Saturday afternoon at the Maggs Physical Activities Center.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Sea Gulls took an early 5-0 lead on a Kylie Webb three-point play and Kaylee Otlowski jumper, with Ashlynn Burrows picking up both assists in the first minute. The Profs answered with five in a row of their own, tying it at the 7:39 mark on an Eliana Santana layup.
• The teams traded blows throughout a competitive first quarter. With SU down 13-12 at the 3:27 mark, Abby Wilkinson hit a pair of free throws, then Jada Welbon's layup put the Sea Gulls on top 16-13. Nicole Mallard answered for Rowan with a layup at the 1:38 mark to make it 16-15, where it would stay till the end of the quarter.
• Salisbury opened the second quarter with an 8-2 run, with Webb's three-pointer at the 7:43 mark building the lead to 24-17. After a Kennedy Brown layup got Rowan back on the board, Otlowski converted a tip-back layup and Webb nailed an open jumper to make it 28-19. Lauren Fortescue soon followed with two foul shots, then an Otlowski layup made it an 8-0 run and a 32-19 lead with 5:48 before halftime.
• Rowan soon mounted an 8-2 run to get back into it, with Grace Marshall going coast-to-coast on a rebound and layup to get the Profs back within 34-28 at the 4:19 mark. Both teams went cold for the next two minutes, then after Wilkinson converted a pair from the charity stripe, Kristina Johnson connected from distance and soon followed it up with two free throws to cut the SU lead to 36-33 with 1:29 to go.
• Over the next minute and a half the Sea Gulls converted six straight free throws, with Alex Bull's pair rebuilding the SU lead to 44-35. The Profs bit off three more with their final shot of the half as Sam Rinaldi drained it from deep, making it a 44-38 game at halftime.
• Marshall opened the third quarter with a three, then Mallard hit one-of-two at the line to get Rowan within 44-42. The Sea Gulls answered with buckets from Otlowski and Burrows, and Otlowski hit one at the stripe to make it 49-42 SU at the 6:39 mark.
• Up 53-48 with 3:36 to go in the period, Webb hit two free throws and Wilkinson soon followed with two more. Otlowski took a feed inside from Webb for a layup, ballooning the Sea Gull advantage to 59-48 with 2:02 to go.
• Johnson quelled the momentum by converting an and-one for Rowan, sparking a 6-2 Prof push to get it to 61-54 at the close of the quarter.
• Welbon opened the fourth with a pair of free throws, then Fortescue took a steal and drove all the way for a layup, and Webb smoked a three-pointer to build the SU lead to 68-54 on the 7-0 run.
• Undeterred, Rowan got back on the horse and rode a 15-2 run back into the game. Marshall started the rally with a three-point play and converted a jumper and two more from the line during the rally. Sabrina Araujo knocked down one free throw at the 4:07 mark to get the Profs within one at 70-69 but missed the tying foul shot. Fortescue hit 2-of-4 from the stripe over the next minute to put Salisbury up 72-69, then Rowan got within one again on a Santana layup to make it 72-71 with 2:47 to go.
• With the score still 72-71 with 1:30 to go and Salisbury holding possession, Fortescue missed a three but Webb swooped in for the offensive rebound. Fortescue returned the favor 15 seconds later by grabbing the rebound on Webb's missed triple, then drew a foul and hit a pair to make it 74-71 Salisbury with 1:16 to go.
• On the ensuing Rowan possession, Otlowski blocked a Santana layup inside and grabbed the rebound. Salisbury then won the free-throw battle over the final minute, knocking down 5-of-6 from the line to put it out of reach and finish off a 79-74 win.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Kaylee Otlowski produced a double-double for the third time this season and 24th time in her career, netting 20 points (9-of-18) and hauling in a season-high 17 rebounds. Otlowski also dished out three assists.
• Kylie Webb matched her career high with 18 points (5-of-8) in 36 minutes of action. Webb also scored 18 on Jan. 25, 2020, against Christopher Newport.
• Lauren Fortescue notched a season-high 17 points (4-of-13), knocking down eight of her 12 free throw attempts. She brought in nine rebounds, including six offensive boards.
• Abby Wilkinson went a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line and finished with 12 points in 19 minutes off the bench.
• The Sea Gulls shot 35.5 percent (22-of-62) from the floor and went to the free throw line 45 times, sinking 32 foul shots (71.1 percent).
• Salisbury outrebounded the Profs 48-33, including 20-8 on the offensive glass.

ROWAN GAME NOTES

• Grace Marshall led all scorers with 21 points (7-of-12, 6-of-7 FT) to go along with four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Nicole Mallard chipped in 15 points (4-of-9), while Kristina Johnson and Eliana Santana each netted 11. Santana notched a double-double with 10 rebounds.
• The Profs turned the ball over 21 times and forced 19 Salisbury giveaways. Each team managed 10 steals.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls now hit the road for pair of games over the next week, starting on Wednesday night with a showdown at Marymount (Va.).
• Tipoff from Arlington, Va., is slated for 6 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.