The University of Mary Washington women's basketball team came from behind late to defeat Southern Virginia University, 49-46, on Wednesday night at Ron Rosner Arena in Capital Athletic Conference action. The Eagles improve to 15-7 on the season, and 4-3 in CAC play.
The Eagles pulled ahead early, taking a 7-2 lead thanks to a pair of three point baskets from junior Maddie Shifflett. The Eagles drew interior fouls while building the lead, leading to foul trouble for the Knights on the inside. The Knights remained within striking distance after one, as the Eagles used baskets from junior Tory Martin and sophomore Faith St. Clair to take a 12-7 advantage to the second.
Southern Virginia started the second quarter with a three pointer, but the Eagles scored seven straight points to take a 19-10 lead with 6:20 left before intermission. A Shifflett three upped the lead to 24-12 with 4:59 to play, but the Knights rallied for eight points in the final minutes to draw back to within 27-20 at halftime.
In the third, the Eagles were able to hold SVU at bay, with a Shifflett layup with 7:08 left gave the Eagles a double-digit lead at 33-22. Six straight Knight points cut the margin back to five before an Ashley Martin jumper stopped the run and returned the lead to seven. UMW led by eight, 39-31, with 2:41 to go, before a 5-2 spurt from SVU moved the score to 41-36. That score would hold through the end of the third to the fourth, when a Knights layup with 7:09 left cut the margin to 41-38.
Four more Southern Virginia baskets would give them a 46-41 lead with 2:58 left, but a basket from Jordan Lee and a free throw from Bri Harper with 1:56 left cut the margin to 46-44. A basket from Molly Sharman knotted the score, and a Tory Martin bucket gave UMW the lead back for good with 55 seconds left. Shifflett made a free throw with three seconds left for the final margin.
The Eagles were led by Tory Martin and Shifflett's 12 points, while Harper scored 11. Shifflett led with seven rebounds.
UMW shot 19-52 from the floor, making 3-12 three point tries, and 8-17 free throws. Southern Va. shot 18-62, making 4-19 three point tries and 6-12 free throws. SVU held a 53-39 rebounding advantage.
The Eagles will return to action on Saturday, when they visit St. Mary's College at 2:00 p.m. in another CAC contest.