St. Mary’s City, MD– The St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s basketball team (9-9) completed the regular-season sweep of United East Conference foe Penn State Harrisburg (11-7) this evening (Feb. 1). The final score was 61-53, improving the Seahawks’ United East Conference record to 7-4
How It Happened
- St. Mary’s led Penn State Harrisburg 10-7 in a low scoring first quarter of play. Stephanie Howell and Karon Williams were the lone point scorers for the Seahawks, Williams with six and Howell with four. The Seahawks set the tone early with their defense, picking up four steals and forcing the Nittany Lions into six turnovers in the opening period of play.
- The second quarter was a much more back and forth offensive affair. St. Mary’s opened things up with a 9-2 run fueled by a deep three-pointer from Cassidy Kupchinskas. The Seahawks led by as much as 13 in the quarter. The Nittany Lions responded with a 11-0 run to to trim the St. Mary’s College lead to just two going into the halftime break. Karon Williams led all scorers with 19 points at the half, while Stephanie Howell chipped in 10 points and led all Seahawks with seven rebounds. St. Mary’s carried a 32-30 advantage into the locker room.
- St. Mary’s was once again able to build a comfortable lead deep into the third quarter, leading by 10 with 3:52 remaining to play. The Seahawk offensive run was capitalized with a crafty Amira Whitaker hook shot. Penn State Harrisburg once again rallied and scored the final seven points of the quarter, thanks to two three-pointers. The Nittany Lions were able to knot hings up at 44-44.
- Penn State Harrisburg was able to recapture their first lead since the first half with 7:16 left to play in the fourth quarter. Just when it looked like the Nittany Lions had all the momentum, St. Mary’s responded with a 15-3 run to close out the contest. Karon Williams was able to ice the game with two clutch free-throws in the final seconds and the Seahawks were able to hold on 61-53. St. Mary’s was able to shoot 40% from behind the three-point line and hustle for 13 steals as a team.
Inside the Box Score
- Karon Williams continued her dominate play this evening scoring 24 points, corralling seven rebounds, and picking up three steals.
- Stephanie Howell was all over the court again for St. Mary’s with another double double, scoring 18 points and controlling a team high 11 rebounds.
- Cassidy Kupchinskas sparked the Seahawks with 10 points, going 2-3 from behind the three-point arc.
Up Next
St. Mary’s College Women’s Basketball will begin a four-game away stand this Friday, February 4th against United East opponent Morrisville State. The Seahawks and Mustangs will tip off at 7:00 pm.