Shorewomen Finish with 69-37 Advantage on the Glass

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- Host Washington College held a commanding 69-37 advantage on the boards, including a 43-16 margin in the second half, en route to a 71-40 Centennial Conference women's basketball victory over visiting Ursinus College tonight inside Cain Athletic Center. 

The 31-point margin of victory for the Shorewomen (5-1 overall, 3-1 Centennial) is their largest ever in their all-time series with the Bears (4-3, 2-2). The 40 points scored by Ursinus was also the Bears' lowest output in the 32 all-time meetings between the two schools.

The Shorewomen held a 30-18 lead at halftime despite shooting just 7-for-28 from the field in the first half.  There were two primary reasons for that; they were 14-for-16 at the free-throw line in the half and they held the Bears to 5-for-27 shooting from the field in the opening 20 minutes. 

Washington ran away with the game in the second half, grabbing 25 of the first 26 rebounds of the period and scoring as many second-chance points (22) in the period as Ursinus did points in the half. 

The Shorewomen's 69 rebounds were their most in a single game since hauling down 75 in a 57-40 win at Villa Julie December 9th, 2000. Included in those 69 total rebounds on the evening were 34 on the offensive end, giving the Shorewomen an offensive rebound rate of 63% for the game. Twenty-five of those offensive boards came in the second half. 

The victory was a total team effort for the Shorewomen as just one Washington player - junior guard Kelly Mitchell (Laurel, MD/Academy of the Holy Cross) who netted all 10 of her points in the first half - reached double figures in scoring, but all 12 players who dressed scored at least three points.  No single Shorewoman brought down 10 rebounds, but four -   junior forward Erin Fitzgerald (Greensboro, NC/Bishop McGuiness), junior forward Latisha Pledger (Chesapeake, VA/Indian River), senior center Erin Kile (Benton, PA/Benton), and junior forward Liz Warkala (New York, NY/Marymount School) - tallied nine a piece. Fitzgerald and junior guard Claire Mattox (Arlington, VA/Potomac School) scored nine points each, while freshman guard Dee Maddox (Virginia Beach, VA/Norfolk Collegiate) scored eight. Kile blocked three shots in the win, while Mitchell swiped three steals - both game highs.  All 12 Shorewomen played between 10 and 25 minutes each.

Diamond Lewis led Ursinus with 13 points and seven boards. Alyssa Polimeni added 11 points for the Bears. 

Washington finished the game 22-for-75 from the field, but 22-for-25 from the free-throw line.  Ursinus finished the contest 13-for-60 from the field and 14-for-25 at the line.

The Shorewomen return to action Thursday with a 7:00 p.m. Centennial Conference game at Swarthmore.