The 10th ranked University of Mary Washington women's basketball team entered the fourth quarter of its Saturday road contest at Salisbury University trailing by eight points, but erupted for a 28-8 advantage in the final frame to defeat the Sea Gulls, 59-47, on Saturday afternoon in Capital Athletic Conference action. The Eagles improve to 18-1 overall, and 11-1 in league play.

In a back and forth affair that saw many significant scoring runs, it was the hosts who struck first, outscoring the Eagles, 19-8, in the first quarter. Sophomore Megan Comer hit three straight field goals late to lead UMW in the opening stanza.

In the second, it was the Eagles' turn to heat up, while Salisbury ran cold, as UMW outscored the Gulls, 16-5, over the next 10 minutes. Trailing 22-11 early into action, Kendall Parker hit a pair of free throws to kickstart a run that included two baskets from Barton, another from Megan Green, and was capped by a three point play from Comden, which tied the score at 22 with 1:05 left before halftime. Each team would add a pair of points to send the game to intermission deadlocked at 24-24.

Just as they had done to start the game, Salisbury made a run in the third quarter, outscoring UMW, 15-7. Barton and Comden each contributed three-point plays, but UMW was left starting the fourth in an eight-point hole, 39-31.

But the Eagles scored nearly as many points in the fourth (28) as they had in the first three quarters, and rolled while limiting SU to eight points. Comden scored five points and Barton added four as UMW regained the lead at 43-42 with 5:13 remaining, and Comden would score the next four points, as the Eagles built a lead they would not surrender.

Sophomore McKenzie Jenkins scored six points in the final minute, including 4-4 shooting on free throws, as UMW extended the final to 59-47.

Comden led all scorers with 19 points on 8-20 shooting and added seven rebounds, while Barton scored 12 on 5-11 shooting with six caroms.

The Eagles shot 21-58 from the floor (36.2%), making 1-6 three point tries and 16-21 free throws. Salisbury shot 25.9% (14-54) including 3-11 on three pointers and 16-18 on free throws.

UMW will host fifth ranked Christopher Newport University in a rematch of a top-10 matchup from two weeks ago on Wednesday night at Rosner Arena. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.