SWARTHMORE, Pa. — Samantha Blaylock exploded for a career-high 24 points, including seven three-pointers, but St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s basketball dropped a hard-fought 59–53 road decision to Swarthmore College on Tuesday night inside Tarble Pavilion.
The Seahawks (4–3) led 14–12 after one quarter and took a tight 27–24 deficit into halftime. St. Mary’s dominated the third period 13–10 to knot the score at 37–37 heading into the fourth, but the Garnet (3–5) caught fire in the final frame, outscoring the visitors 22–16 behind timely threes and a 14-of-23 effort at the free-throw line to seal the win.
Blaylock, a sophomore guard from Leonardtown High School, came off the bench to shoot 8-of-17 overall and 7-of-16 from beyond the arc while playing 28 minutes. Her seven made threes tied the second-most in a single game in program history.
Saffiyah Gibson added 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting, Olivia Liszt contributed seven points and four rebounds in 37 minutes, and Keira Mason dished a team-high five assists to go with five points and two steals.
St. Mary’s bench dominated Swarthmore’s reserves 40–5 and forced 23 Garnet turnovers that led to 23 Seahawk points. However, Swarthmore controlled the glass 45–36 and converted 14 fourth-quarter free throws to overcome a cold 35 percent shooting night from three.
Vianna Kanyamiheto-Watson matched Blaylock’s 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting and five threes to pace Swarthmore.
The Seahawks return to action Thursday, December 11, when they travel to Frederick for a 6 p.m. non-conference matchup at Hood College.
