FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Salisbury University women's basketball team parlayed a smothering defensive effort into a come-from-behind 48-43 victory over the Mary Washington Eagles on Saturday afternoon at the William M. Anderson Center.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After ceding the first four points of the game, Jada Welbon got the Sea Gulls on the board with a three-pointer at the 7:56 mark of the first quarter. A minute and a half later she sank a jumper to put SU up 5-4.
• The Eagles held their guests off the board for the rest of the quarter. Megan Baxter drilled a triple that put Mary Washington back up 7-5 and kickstarted a 12-0 run over the final 4:59 of the first. Molly Sharman's field goal with 38 seconds to go in the period capped the surge and gave UMW a 16-5 advantage.
• Karissa Highlander opened the second quarter with a layup to build the Eagle lead to 18-5. Kaylee Otlowski responded with a jumper to break up the long drought and start a 7-0 Sea Gull counter. Hailey Ader sank one-of-two at the free throw line and followed it up with a layup, then Otlowski sank another jumper to get SU back within 18-12 at the 5:12 mark.
• Bri Harper answered for UMW with a triple to make it 21-12 at the 2:53 mark, but Salisbury put together another seven in a row to trim the deficit even further. Lauren Fortescue and Abby Wilkinson nailed jumpers in quick succession, then Welbon knocked down a three with 17 seconds left to make it 21-19. Ashley Martin beat the clock for a trey at the other end, though, and Mary Washington took a two-possession lead at 24-19 into halftime.
• Martin opened the third quarter with a layup to make it 26-19 Eagles, but from there Salisbury locked in and began breaking the game open the other way. Otlowski sank two free throws, then Emily Dilger poured in a layup to get it back to one possession. After a Fortescue free throw, Otlowski tied it at 26-26 with a jumper at the 6:21 mark.
• Kylie Webb's three at the 5:28 mark gave the Sea Gulls their first lead since the first quarter at 29-26, and Dilger finished off the 12-0 SU run with two free throws to make it 31-26 with 4:55 to go. Both teams went cold for the rest of the third but the Sea Gulls entered the fourth up 33-28 on the back of a 14-4 quarter.
• Salisbury came out firing in the fourth quarter as Dilger hit a jumper and Webb a trey to build the lead to 38-28 at the 8:46 mark. Points were hard to come by for both sides through the middle portion of the fourth, but the Sea Gulls held steady and led 43-34 with 2:36 to go.
• From there the Eagles came storming back. Harper began the run at the 2:21 mark with a jumper, then Baxter drained a three to make it 43-39. After UMW got a stop, Baxter hit one-of-two to make it a one-possession game at 43-40 with 1:10 to go.
• Salisbury turned it over with 38 seconds left, giving Mary Washington a chance to tie, but Sydney Sherman missed a jumper that ended up in the arms of Otlowski for the rebound. Both teams hit one-of-two on successive trips to the line, then Fortescue sank both of her foul shots to put SU up two possessions at 46-41 with 28 seconds to go.
• Fortescue hit one more at the line with 19 seconds left, then after Harper's jumper made it 47-43, Webb hit one-of-two from the stripe, giving the Sea Gulls a 48-43 lead that would prove to be the game's final margin.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Jada Welbon led the Sea Gull attack with 10 points (4-of-10) and took away four steals. She also added two rebounds and two assists and played all 40 minutes of the game.
• Kaylee Otlowski narrowly missed a double-double, scoring nine points (3-of-13) with nine boards.
• Lauren Fortescue netted eight points, while Kylie Webb contributed seven. Emily Dilger and Hailey Ader chipped in six points each.
• The Sea Gulls shot a season-low 24.1 percent (14-of-58) from the floor but made up for it at the free throw line, sinking 72.7 percent (16-of-22) of their foul shots.
• Salisbury forced a staggering 26 Eagle turnovers, notching 14 steals in the process. Webb and Welbon combined for nine of SU's 14 swipes.

MARY WASHINGTON GAME NOTES

• Bri Harper scored 10 points (4-of-12) to lead the Eagles off the bench.
• Ashley Martin netted nine points with seven rebounds, while Megan Baxter added eight points.
• The Eagles shot a mere 31.3 percent (15-of-48) from the floor, going 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) from three-point range and 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) from the charity stripe.
• UMW outrebounded the Sea Gulls 45-36, though the two teams were an even 12-12 on the offensive glass.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls head up to Midwood/Flatbush in New York City for a Monday night showdown at Brooklyn College.
• Tipoff from West Quad Gymnasium is slated for 5 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.