The University of Mary Washington Women's basketball team showed out against the Averett University Cougars on Saturday afternoon in Fredericksburg, Va. Jordan Carpenter, Keagan Schwab, and Elizabeth Dufrane scored 11 points each , along with Molly Sharmans' 10. The Eagles move to 15-3 on the season, earning a win in its last home game until senior day on February 18th, 2023.
Junior guard Keagan Schwab started the contest at 8:45 with a mid-range bucket, followed closely by a steal-turned-layup from Ashley Martin at 8:29. At this point, it was 4-2 UMW, but that would not last long. The Eagles, more specifically Jordan Carpenter, would go onto score 6 points in 2 minutes, including 2 made buckets while earning 2 easy free-throw shots. The Eagles defense was just getting started, but unfortunate misses would be the Cougars downfall throughout the rest of the game. UMW would take a 17-4 lead by the 4:32 mark in the first, which was followed by a made jumper from Adeline Riner, a 3-pointer from Elizabeth Dufrane, and a basket from in the paint by Molly Sharman to end an active first quarter.
Elizabeth Dufrane would begin the 2nd quarter with a corner 3 at 9:40 and a basket at 8:12, making the Eagles advantage 29-15. Continuous buckets from the Eagles coupled with the fact that the Cougars only scored 7 points in the last 7 minutes of the first half would lead to a 50-24 lead for the Eagles going into the break. UMWs' ability to spread the ball and take good shots led to 8 players getting involved. The first and last points of the 2nd quarter were scored by Elizabeth Dufrane, both 3 pointers from the left wing. Altogether, Mary Washington shot 54% from the field in the 1st half, going 8-11 from the stripe.
Keagan Schwab began the 2nd half with a bucket at 8:46, with Carpenter, Martin, and Megan Baxter making 2 jumpers and 1 3-pointer, respectively, to put the Eagles up 60-24. The 3rd quarters for both teams were quite the opposite, with the Cougars' lone basket being put up at 3:55. Sydney Sherman and Molly Sharman added points at the end of the 3rd, with buckets at 3:51 and 1:39. The Eagles outscored the Cougars 14-2 in the 3rd quarter.
Molly Sharman started the final quarter with 2 buckets, one at 8:55 and the other at 5:15. On the next possession, Megan Baxter would score her final basket of the night, ending her after with 7 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Andrea Lefkowitz would come off the bench in the 4th to score back-to-back jumpers from 12 feet out at 1:54 and 1:15. The last Eagles points would come from the hands of Molly Sharman with 55 seconds to go, ending her day with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Jordan Carpenter led with 7 rebounds, as Adeline Riner added 5 of her own.
UMW shot 43.1% from the floor (31-72), making 6-21 three point attempts and 8-11 free throws. Averett shot 25.0% (12-48), making 4-19 three point tries and 6-9 free throws. The Cougars led in rebounds, 42-38, while UMW dominated in the turnover department, forcing 38 turnovers to Averetts' 12. UMW led 38-9 in points-off-turnovers.
The Eagles will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Salisbury University for the first of six away games; the game begins at 3:00 p.m.