It didn't take long for the lid to come off the basket as the Mary Washington women's basketball team (8-2) made its first six shots of the afternoon and rode the early momentum to a 56-40 victory over NC Wesleyan on Saturday in Fredericksburg, Va.

With the first layup of her day falling to open the game, Jordan Carpenter scored 20 more points to lead the Eagles in scoring as she recorded her eighth double-double of the season in the process (10 rebounds).

With their first six shots falling, the Eagles opened up a 15-7 lead by the 5:32 mark in the first quarter and then finished up the opening period with a 23-13 lead. In the second quarter, the Eagles scored 14 more points, while holding NC Wesleyan to just 12 on the scoreboard as UMW took a 37-25 lead into the halftime break.

Coming out of the half, neither team could find their footing offensivley in the third quarter as the two teams combined to score just 13 points (seven from UMW, six from the Battling Bishops). 

And in the fourth, the Eagles put NC Wesleyan away for good as they outscored the Battling Bishops by three, 12-9.

On the defensive end, Mary Washington held NC Wesleyan to shoot just 15-of-53 (28.3%), while the Eagles converted 35% of their shots (21-for-60). UMW forced 26 turnovers and easily outrebounded NC Wesleyan, 48-33.

The Eagles took advantage of their opponents miscues as they scored 22 points off of turnovers. And the teamwork on the offensive end flowed together as Mary Washington recorded assists on 16 of their 21 baskets -- Ashley Martin led the way with four, while Sophie Pavlech and Megan Baxter trailed with three apiece.

The Eagles will rest up until their trip to the Puetro Rico Classic in San Juan. They'll play Rochester (N.Y.) on Dec. 29 with tip-off coming at 10 a.m. ET.