Junior forward Jordan Carpenter scored 20 points and added 14 rebounds, and junior point guard Megan Baxter added 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the University of Mary Washington women's basketball team to a 70-56 victory over UC Santa Cruz on Friday night in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference semifinal at Ron Rosner Arena. The Eagles improve to 22-5, and advance to the C2C Championship on Saturday.

The Eagles started strong, jumping out to a 9-2 lead, thanks to five points from senior Ashley Martin and four from Carpenter. After three free throws for Santa Cruz, Carpenter and Sydney Sherman (10 points) upped the Eagle lead to 13-5 with 3:54 remaining in the first. The Banana Slugs trimmed the margin to 18-13 after 10 minutes with an 8-5 run to end the period.

In the second, a pair of Carpenter baskets and another from Baxter extended UMW's lead to 25-16 with 6:37 left. A three pointer from Santa Cruz with 3:58 left trimmed the margin to 29-24, but UMW answered with a 6-2 streak to end the second and lead, 35-26, at halftime.

The Eagles continued to inch further ahead throughout the third, with Keagan Schwab and Baxter opening the frame with baskets. Four straight points from Carpenter upped the lead to 43-27, and the teams traded points the rest of the quarter, with UMW leading, 55-40, entering the fourth.

A 9-2 run from Santa Cruz opened the fourth, and the Eagle lead slipped to five, at 56-51, with 7:19 remaining. But a 10-2 Eagle run, keyed by two Baxter baskets, returned the margin to 13, at 66-53, with 2:20 left, and the Eagles held on for the 70-56 win.

Carpenter shot 9-16 from the floor, and Baxter shot 6-10. Sherman scored 10 points on 4-6 shooting.

Mary Washington shot 43.5% from the floor (27-62), making 16-25 free throws.. Santa Cruz shot 29.5% (18-61), making 4-17 three point shots and 16-24 free throws. The Eagles led in rebounds, 50-36.

UMW will face top-seeded Christopher Newport on Saturday at 7 p.m. for the C2C Championship at Ron Rosner Arena.