St. Mary's, Md.-- The University of Mary Washington women's basketball team held the Seahawks (7-12, 4-8 CAC) to just 11-47 (23.4%) shooting for the game in the victory. Three Eagles scored in double fgures, lead by Aubrey Howland's 14 points. The Eagles move to 14-6, 7-5 CAC with the win.
Howland started off the game with a layup on the opening possesion to take an early lead. The Seahawks answered right back, which was the story of the opening half, as each team had an answer for every bucket.
Matti Vagnoni hit a three pointer with the score tied at 11, the only Seahawk three of the game, to push ahead 14-11. A Sarah Listenbee and Brie Matthes jumper each gave the Eagles the lead again at 15-14.
The Eagles took command toward the end of the half with a big 5-0 run to pull ahead by six, thanks in part to a Howland free throw, followed up by a Caitie Geoghegan layup. Caitlin Ciniero capped the run with a jumper to lead 26-20 with only four minutes left in the half.
St. Mary's cut into the lead, and got it down to two, before UMW closed the half on a 5-1 run to give them a 34-28 lead at the break. Sarah Listenbee paced the Eagles in the first half with six points. Sam Partonen added four points and four rebounds, while Aby Diop chipped in four points and five boards. UMW shot 42.9% as a team in the opening stanza.
A Marche Pearson jump shot made the deficit only six, but it was all Eagles in the second half. UMW poured on a 9-1 run to force a Seahawk timeout, giving them a 14 point lead. Partonen started the spurt with a big three pointer, and was followed up by a Howland layup and a pair of Diop freebies. Listenbee capped off the run with a bug jumper with 15:51 remaining.
The Eagles gave up just nine points the rest of the way, outscoring St. Mary's 30-9 in the final 15 minutes of the game. UMW scored 38 of thier 75 points in the paint, as they dominated play down low.
Howland led all scorers with 14 points, and also added seven rebounds and two assists. Diop and Partonen also hit double digits, both scoring 11. Diop chipped in nine boards and two assists, while Partonen had four boards, five assists and four steals. The Eagles shot 44% from the field for the game, while holding SMC to just 23.4% shooting.
UMW returns to action against CAC foe Salisbury on Saturday, February 8th. Tipoff with the Sea Gulls begins at 1:00 p.m. from the Anderson Center.