STAUNTON, VA - Mary Baldwin University defeated Salem College 63-60 this afternoon in women's basketball.  The Fighting Squirrels played one of their best halves of the season building a 40-20 lead in the first 20 minutes of play.  The home team shot the ball well hitting over 43% from the field and over 57% from beyond the arc in the first half.

Salem did not give up easily coming back in the second half outscoring Mary Baldwin 23-12 in the third quarter. 

The Spirits continued to chip away at Mary Baldwin's lead and pulled to within 2 points late in the 4th quarter.  The Fighting Squirrels answered each time and never lost the the lead they took at the 7:16 minute mark in the first quarter.

Mary Baldwin's balanced scoring attack was led by Aayana Nedd with 15 points.  Nedd shot an impressive 3 for 3 from beyond the arc and a perfect 2 for 2 at the charity stripe late in the game.  Nicole Blackburn earned her second double-double this weekend scoring 13 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.  Khai Davidson's 12 rebounds were also critical in the win helping Mary Baldwin to control the boards.

Salem's Sabrina Sheperd led all scorers with 24 points.  Mikayla Seivers added 20 points while Alexiahonna Bush grabbed 15 rebounds.

After the game, head coach Andrew Stephens said, "Great win for the kids today.  We took control of the game early and, although we didn't play as well as we should have in the second half, we did what we needed to do to win.  This is a major step forward for us and a good win heading into conference play."

Mary Baldwin University, 2-9 (0-0 USAS), begin conference play this weekend when they travel to North Carolina to take on Methodist University and N.C. Wesleyan College.