The University of Mary Washington women's basketball team dropped a 75-71 decision at William Peace University on Monday evening in Raleigh, N.C. The Eagles slip to 7-3 on the season.
The Eagles built an eight point lead in the first quarter, thanks to a 9-2 run across four minutes of action. Freshman Bri Harper's three point play capped the run, with 2:38 remaining. A basket from freshman Karissa Highlander capped the first quarter scoring, with the Eagles holding a 23-17 lead.
In the second, the teams traded baskets throughout the early action, as the lead swung back and forth between three and five points. The Pacers took the lead with 3:27 to go, but a Harper three returned the lead to UMW with 2:45 left. A late three pointer from the hosts knotted the score at 35-35, but senior Emily Thompson connected for a three pointer at the buzzer to give UMW a 38-35 advantage at intermission.
The teams again traded baskets through much of the action in the third quarter, bouncing back and forth between a tied score and a two-point lead for UMW. A pair of late three pointers from Harper gave UMW an 8-2 run to close the quarter and take a 55-47 lead to the fourth quarter.
In the final frame, the Pacers raced to 28 points to pull away at the end. UMW extended the lead to 59-50 to start the proceedings, but the Pacers scored nine straight to knot the score at 59-59 with 5:27 to play. William Peace grabbed a one-point lead at 64-63 with a pair of free throws with 2:45 left, but junior Maddie Shifflett answered with a three pointer to regain the lead with 2:32 left.
A Shifflett layup with 1:57 remaining gave UMW a four point cushion, but a pair of three pointers down the stretch gave the Pacers the lead, and they converted eough free throws in the waning seconds to hold on for the win.
Tory Martin led the Eagles with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Shifflett scored 17 with five rebounds and two steals, and Harper scored a career-high 14 on 5-8 shooting.
Mary Washington shot 23-56 from the field (41.1%), making 8-17 three point attempts and 17-20 free throws. William Peace made 26-62 shots (41.9%), making 8-22 three point tries and 15-22 free throws.
The Eagles will return to action on December 29 at the Roanoke Holiday Tournament against Kean University at 7:00 p.m.