DAVVILLE, Va. - Mary Baldwin raced out to a 35-18 halftime lead Sunday afternoon and went on to defeat Averett, 61-49, in conference action.

Leading 11-9, MBU outscored the Cougars 8-1 during the remainder of the first quarter to open up a 19-10 cushion. Demet Saygili started the run with a layup and Mary Moran scored from in close, making the score 15-10. Mya Coleman scored on a layup and then added two foul shots to put the Squirrels on top by nine after one quarter.

The Squirrels opened the second quarter with an 8-2 spirt to push the lead to 15 points. Jalen Gathers hit two foul shots and A'Cetta Farrait added a jumper and 1-of-2 at the line, stretching the MBU lead to 24-10. After Averett's Jihnez Hutchinson added a bucket, Saygili knoclked down a 3-pointer for a 27-12 MBU lead.

Maty Moran closed out the half with a 3-pointer just bfore the buzzer, giving MBU its biggest lead of the first half, 35-18.

Averett rallied in the third quatter and got as close as five points on two occasions. The Cougars trailed by just six, 43-37, entering the final quarter.

Jumpers by Moran and Farrait to open the fourth quarter pushed the margin back to double digits, 47-37, and the Squirrels built the advantage back up to 16 points before settling for the 12-point victory. 

Saygili turned in a strong all-around performance, leading the Fighting Squirrels with 20 points while also notching six rebounds, five assists and five steals. Moran scored 13 points for MBU, followed by Farrait with 11 points and Coleman with 10 .

Mary Baldwin is now 13-9 overall and 10-7 in conference play. The Squirrels close out the regular season Wednesday evening when they host Methodist.