Junior forward Tory Martin scored a game-high 24 points to lead three players in double figures as the University of Mary Washington women's basketball team topped Salisbury University, 72-63, on Wednesday night in Capital Athletic Conference action at Rosner Arena. With the win, the Eagles improve to 12-3 overall, and 2-0 in league play.
The early action went back and forth, with three ties. A three point basket from senior Emily Thompson gave the Eagles a 9-6 advantage before Salisbury scored five straight to take their first lead of the night, with 2:39 remaining in the first. a layup from Martin knotted the score at 12-12, before a Sea Gull layin at the horn gave the Gulls a 14-12 lead after 10 minutes.
In the second, the game remained tight, as Martin sunk a pair of free throws to knot the score, and followed with a layup to return the lead to the home team, 16-14, with 8:39 left before intermission. the team traded baskets until a pair of consecutive three pointers for Salisbury gave them the lead at 25-22 with 38 seconds left. Martin scored on the next Eagle possession to cut the deficit to one, where the score stood at halftime, at 25-24.
The back-and-forth continued in the third, as Thompson opened the scoring with a three pointer, and from there, the lead would switch hands three times in the next two minutes. Salisbury connected on a pair of free throws to take a three-point lead, but Thompson hit another triple to again tie the score at 34-34 with 6:10 left in the frame. The lead would change hands twice with three ties in the next several possessions, and a pair of layups from freshman Molly Sharman gave the Eagles a 42-39 edge with 3:31 left. Salisbury closed the period on a 10-2 run to hold a 49-44 lead entering the final ten minutes.
The Eagles seized control in the fourth, outscoring the guests, 28-14. Freshman Ashley Martin hit a free throw and a jumper before Thompson was fouled on a three point shot, and connected on all three free throws to give UMW a 50-49 advantage with 8:29 to play. UMW built the lead to four with a Thompson basket with 5:56 left, but the Sea Gulls hit another three to draw back to within one. Martin made a basket and missed the ensuing free throw, but Faith St. Clair grabbed the offensive rebound, leading to another Thompson three to build the Eagle advantage to 61-55 with 4:56 left.
Five straight Sea Gull points cut the margin back to one, but Martin answered with another bucket with 3:02 to play to return the lead to three. Shifflett then hit three free throws, but Salisbury came right back with a three point play to draw back to 66-63. St. Clair connected on four straight free throws in the final minute, and Martin capped the scoring with two more in the waning seconds.
Martin shot 7-10 from the floor and 10-13 from the line. Thompson scored 17 points on 5-8 shooting with four three pointers, and Shifflett scored 13 to go with a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Eagles shot 22-44 from the floor, making 4-9 three point tries, and went 24-30 from the charity stripe, while Salisbury shot 23-53 from the field (43.4%), making 6-16 three point tries and 11-16 free throws. The Eagles held a 32-28 rebounding edge.
Mary Washington will return to action on Saturday when they host Christopher Newport University at 1:00 p.m.