LANCASTER, Pa. – The Salisbury University women's basketball team kept its early-season dominance rolling into the new year, opening up 2022 with a 68-55 victory over the Lancaster Bible College Chargers to extend its winning streak to nine games on Wednesday night at Horst Athletic Center.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Chargers opened up with back-to-back three-pointers from Jenna Dombach and Emma Drouillard, taking a 6-0 lead in the game's opening moments. The teams traded buckets over the next three minutes, and LBC extended its lead to 13-6 at the 5:31 mark of the first quarter on a free throw from Alaysha Iwais.
• The Sea Gulls hit the turbo and got back into it over the final 4:20 of the first. Kaylee Otlowski hit one-of-two from the line, then Lauren Fortescue connected from distance to make it 13-10. Down 15-12 with two minutes to go in the quarter, Otlowski hit a pair of free throws then grabbed a steal that led to a Madison Cuthbert fastbreak layup, putting Salisbury up 16-15.
• Otlowski's next jumper made it a 12-2 SU run and 18-15 with 58 seconds left in the first. After Mikayla Via tied it with a triple, Kylie Webb found Fortescue for a buzzer-beating layup, and the Sea Gulls finished off the first up 20-18.
• The Sea Gulls opened the second quarter with three quick buckets in succession, taking a 26-18 lead as Hailey Ader, Jada Welbon and Fortescue each sank field goals. SU kept the foot on the gas after a Charger layup, pushing the lead to 32-22 at the 5:39 mark on a jumper from Ader.
• The two sides traded blows until the 3:05 mark, when both team went cold with Salisbury leading 38-28. The Sea Gulls broke up the dueling dry spell with 13 seconds left as Fortescue drove in for a layup that built the SU lead to 40-28 at the half.
• Salisbury kept LBC at an arm's length throughout the third quarter but the Chargers nibbled off some of their deficit. After Ader's jumper put SU up 46-32 at the 6:37 mark, Iwais knocked down a trey that sparked an 8-2 run, culminating with a Tenia Brown tip-in that cut the Sea Gull lead to 48-40 with 2:52 to go.
• Fortescue ended the Charger run with a pair of free throws, but LBC kept pace and finished the third within striking distance at 52-44.
• Jade Eshelman opened the fourth quarter with a jumper that got the Chargers within two possessions at 52-46, but Otlowski sank a jumper and Webb connected from deep to push the SU advantage back to 57-46 at the 8:05 mark.
• Webb kept the push going with a free throw, then Otlowski and Webb hit field goals in quick succession, giving the Sea Gulls their biggest lead at 62-46 with 5:41 to go.
• Lizzy Tilton went on a personal 7-2 run to maintain LBC's lifeline at 64-53 with 2:26 to go, but it was too little, too late. Tori Rumbaugh and Webb salted it away with layups and SU walked away with a 68-55 victory.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Kaylee Otlowski shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor, leading the Sea Gulls with 18 points, nine rebounds and three steals over 37 minutes.
• Reigning Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Player of the Week Lauren Fortescue netted 15 points (5-of-15) to go along with six assists, five rebounds and four steals.
• Kylie Webb scored 14 points (6-of-8), hauled in six rebounds and swiped three steals.
• Hailey Ader chipped in 11 points (5-of-10) over 22 minutes in her first start of the season.
• Salisbury shot 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from the floor, connecting on over half of its field goal attempts for the third time in four games.
• The Sea Gulls forced 22 Charger turnovers with Fortescue, Otlowski and Webb combining for 10 of the team's 16 steals on the night.
• Four SU starters played at least 30 minutes on a night when only nine Sea Gulls saw time on the floor. Madison Cuthbert played a season-high 11 minutes off the bench, scoring four points with three minutes.
• With nine straight victories, the Sea Gulls have tied for their second-longest winning streak since the 2014-15 season. That year's Salisbury team opened up by winning nine in a row and rattled off a 13-gamer later that year.

LANCASTER BIBLE GAME NOTES

• Emma Drouillard led the way for the Chargers with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting over 23 minutes of action.
• Lizzy Tilton chipped in nine points, seven of which came in the late stages of the fourth quarter. No other Charger scored more than six points.
• LBC made 39.6 percent (21-of-53) of its field goals and went 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) from three-point range.
• The Chargers outrebounded the Sea Gulls 38-28, including 14-8 on the offensive glass.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will try to make it a 10-game winning streak on Saturday afternoon at Ursinus.
• Tipoff from Collegeville, Pa., is set for 1 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.