Fredericksburg, Va.-- The University of Mary Washington women's basketball team stormed past Penn St.-Harrisburg, 66-31 on Saturday from the Anderson Center. The Eagles used a big first half to put the Lions away, and move to 10-5, 4-4 CAC on the season. Brianne Comden lead the Eagles with 12 points, as four players hit double figures.
The Eagles got out the gates quick, using a 10-0 run to start the game. Partonen had six of her 11 points on the run, while Aby Diop and Comden each had a bucket.
Following a Lion basket by Rebecca Bailey, the Eagles again put together a run, this time a 7-0 spurt to give the Eagles an early 17-2 lead. The Lions tried to come back, but every time the Eagles had an answer.
UMW led by as many as 23 in the first half after Brianne Comden hit a layup with 1:47 to go in the opening frame to give the Eagles a 31-8 advantage. Penn St.-Harrisburg went on a 5-0 run to end the half trailing UMW 31-13.
Partonen had 11 first half points, along with four assists for the Eagles who shot 46.4% from the field. Brieneke Matthes added eight first half points for the Eagles, while Comden chipped in six points and four rebounds.
Much of the same was true for the Eagles in the second half, as they got the lead up to 20 points, 37-17 early in the second half.
The UMW lead hovered around 20 points for most of the second half, until an 8-1 run put the Eagles up by 32 at 60-28. The run was fueled by five big points by Claire Haeuptle, as well as two by Caitie Geoghegan and a free throw by Meghan King.
UMW cruised to the finish line, defeating the Lions 66-31 in a game in which they never trailed.
Brianne Comden led the Eagles with 12 points, along with seven boards. Partonen, Claire Haeuptle, and Caitie Geoghegan also hit double figures in scoring. Partonen finished with 11 and six assists, while Haeuptle and Geoghegan finished with ten each. Claire added one assist and two steals, while Caitie added seven rebounds and one block.
The Eagles as a team shot 39.7% from the field (23-58), while also going 6-19 (31.6%) from beyond the arc.
Next up for the Eagles is a game against CAC newcomer Southern Virginia. The game with the Knights tips off at 6:00 p.m. from the Anderson Center.