STAUNTON, Va. – The Mary Baldwin University women's basketball team held on for a 56-51 win against Salem in USA South action in the PAC on Tuesday night.
With the win, the Fighting Squirrels improve to 10-8 with a 5-5 mark in conference play, while the Spirits fall to 0-16 on the season and 0-9 in league action.
Nicole Mallon finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds to go along with a pair of blocks and an assist. Mallon played 30 minutes off the bench and finished 6-of-12 from the floor.
Bryonna Woofter registered 13 points and four rebounds with six assists and five steals – both game highs. She played all 40 minutes.
Brooke Anders scored 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds to go with three steals, while Cauy Duboise registered five points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes on the court.
The Spirits started the game on a 10-0 run over the first four minutes of play before the Fighting Squirrels finally got on the board with a layup by Mallon. SC worked the lead to 15-4 before MBU mounted a 9-0 run across the remainder of the first quarter to cut the lead to 15-13 after one period of play.
A Duboise trey gave MBU its first lead of the contest with 8:48 left in the first half. The two sides traded baskets followed by a three by Mary Moran put the Fighting Squirrels up 21-17 with 7:23 left on the clock. Nine-straight points gave Salem the lead once again at 26-21 with 3:18 left in the half. A three by Anders followed by a jumper by Mallon with 30 seconds left tied the score, which held through the break.
Mallon started the scoring in the second half with a layup to give MBU an advantage and worked the lead up to four points. Salem again took the lead with eight minutes left in the third at 31-30 but a quick score from Woofter put the Fighting Squirrels back in the lead. Capped by a three-pointer by Woofter, Mary Baldwin stormed back to a seven-point lead at 38-31 with 5:16 on the clock. Salem responded by tying the game once again and taking a three-point lead on a try by Dionne Sampson with under 90 seconds left in the third and held on to a 41-40 lead at the end of the quarter.
Once again, the Fighting Squirrels pulled ahead by six at 47-41 on a Woofter layup with 7:20 on the clock. The Spirits battled back once again to tie the game at 47-47 before taking a 51-47 lead on a three-pointer by leading-scorer Sydney Bowen. The field goal proved to be the final basket by the Spirits as MBU scored the last nine points of the contest for the win. Trailing by one point with 40 seconds left, a foul was called in the paint as Duboise drilled both shots from the charity stripe to put MBU in the lead at 52-51. The Fighting Squirrels blocked a pair of shots inside the final 20 seconds to secure the victory.
For the Spirits, Bowen finished with 16 points, including 13 in the first half. She scored the first eight points of the game for SC. Aubrey Slaughter tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Lauren Privette finished with 10 rebounds and four assists in the loss. Shenell Pharr finished with seven points with a rebound, an assist and two steals in 13 minutes off the bench.
As a team, MBU shot 32.3 percent (20-62) from the floor compared to 32.8 percent (20-61) from Salem. The Spirits also outrebounded the home side 49-39, but the Fighting Squirrels scored 36 points off a total of 30 forced turnovers.
The Fighting Squirrels return to the court on Saturday, Jan. 25, for its first Alumnae Day. Prior to the contest, MBU and the women's basketball program will honor the program's leading scorer Jessica Carter and all other alumnae at halftime. The pregame ceremonies are set to begin at 2 pm with tip-off scheduled for about 2:20 pm.
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