Senior Aubrey Howland scored what proved to be the winning basket in the final seconds, as the University of Mary Washington women's basketball team stormed back from a 12-point deficit in the final 6:18 with a 15-2 run to defeat Misericordia, 59-58, on Monday in the first round of the Catholic University Holiday Tournament at the DuFour Center.

The Eagles trailed, 56-44, with 6:18 remaining in the game, but freshman Kendall Parker hit back to back three pointers and added another basket to key the final run, as UMW ended the game on a 15-2 run. Trailing by one with six seconds left, Howland gained an offensive rebound on a missed free throw and followed with the game winner. Misericordia's last shot missed to give UMW the win.

The Eagles jumped ahead early, scoring the first five points, as senior Claire Haeuptle opened the game with a three pointer, and sophomore Brianne Comden followed with the first two of her game-high 17 points. The Eagles pushed the lead to 10, at 15-5 with 12:22 left in the half on a Comden layup, but Misericordia used an 8-0 run over the next few minutes to cut the deficit to four, at 21-17 with 6:33 to go.

The Eagles returned the lead to 10 in the final minutes, but Misericordia scored the last four points to move their halftime deficit to 33-27.

In the second half, Misericordia went on an extended run, starting the half on a 24-6 run to capture a 51-39 lead with 8:55 remaining. The lead was still at 12 with 6:18 left, as the Eagles, kickstarted by Parker, made their run.

The Eagles shot 54% from the field in the first half, but just 29% in the second, for40% for the game. UMW made 4-16 three pointers, and went 11-20 from the free throw line. Misericordia shot 42.6% from the field, making 5-14 three pointers, and 13-22 free throws.

The Eagles led in rebounds, 45-25.

UMW was led by Comden's 17 points on 7-11 shooting, while Parker added 10 off the bench on 3-8 shooting (2-3 three pointers). Megan Green had nine points, five assists, and two steals, and Howland scored eight points with 10 rebounds.

UMW will face Catholic on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. in the tournament championship.