The University of Mary Washington women's basketball team downed Catholic University in Washington, D.C., on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles improve to 10-3 overall on the season. Junior Maddie Shifflett led the team with 16 points on 6-12 shooting from the floor. 

Catholic got out to an early lead on the Eagles as they went up 8-4 in the first 3:49. The Cardinals extended their lead to six, 12-6, with 5:06 left in the quarter. UMW then held Catholic scoreless over the next five minutes and went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-12 advantage. In the run Molly Sharman, Tory Martin, and Emily Thompson all contributed points. Sharman scooped home a layup in the closing seconds of the first quarter to put the Eagles up 16-15.

The Cardinals began the second quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 26-16 lead. Down by 12 with 3:41 left in the second, the Eagles closed the half on a 9-0 run to get within just three at the break. Karissa Highlander began the run with a layup, Martin then added a layup, Shifflett drained a three-pointer, and Martin scooped home another layup with just 39 seconds left to put the score at 32-29.

Out of the half Shifflett netted a three-pointer, then Thompson drained a three-pointer, and Martin made a layup on an assist from Sharman to put the Eagles up 37-32. Catholic fought back and took a 40-39 advantage with 4:30 to play in the third. UMW again closed the quarter on a run as they scored seven straight. Ashley Martin nailed a free throw with just eight seconds left to give UMW a 46-40 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter was a defensive battle as there were just 19 points total scored, the least of all quarters. With Catholic pulling within three, 48-45, Sharman made a layup with 6:51 left. The Cardinals then got within two, but a Shifflett jump shot put the Eagles back up 52-48 with just 3:37 left. Catholic added a free throw with 3:22 remaining to get within one, 52-51. UMW then shut down the Cardinals for the remainder of the game as they didn't allow them to score a single point from there. Shifflett closed the game out with two free throws to seal the win for UMW.

T. Martin finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Thompson chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.

UMW shot 21-60 (35.0%) from the field, 4-17 (23.5%) from three-point range, and 8-10 (80.0%) from the free throw line. UMW out-rebounded the opposition 45-30 and dished out 12 assists as a team.

The Eagles will be back in action on Sunday as they will play King's (Pa.) at 1 p.m. as part of the Jamie Lynn Roberts Classic.