SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University women's basketball team lost the battle in the paint with University of Mary Washington as the Eagles defeated the Sea Gulls, 72-54, on Saturday afternoon in a Capital Athletic Conference game at the Maggs Center. This game marked the beginning of the second half of the CAC schedule for both teams. Mary Washington (16-1, 9-0 CAC) is ranked No. 3 in the country and is in first-place in the conference.

The Eagles were led by All-American center Liz Hickey who was one block shy of a triple-double. The 6-foot-3 senior center scored a game-high 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and made nine blocks. She added two assists and two steals. UMW shot 57.1 percent from the field in the first half as the Eagles led 36-26 at the half.

Salisbury (7-11, 4-5 CAC) junior guards Monica Merkel and Lindsay Martin led the Sea Gulls offensively as the duo combined to score 29 points. Merkel scored 13 of her team-high 18 points in the second half while Martin scored 11 in the game. Senior Christina Klamp pulled down 10 rebounds for the Gulls in the loss. The maroon and gold received a 16-point boost from its bench and chipped in 17 points on second chance opportunities.

Mary Washington outscored Salisbury 40-22 in the paint and capitalized on 20 Sea Gull turnovers as the Eagles scored 20 points off those chances.

The Sea Gulls are off for a week before traveling to St. Mary's (Md.) College to face the Seahawks on February 2 at 4 p.m.