SALISBURY, Md. - Valentine's Day may not be until tomorrow, but the Salisbury University women's basketball team broke out the pink socks and laced up its pink shoelaces to participate in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Pink Zone game. After a back-and-forth battle in the second half the sweet smell of success was imminent for the Sea Gulls, who dominated the last five minutes of the game to defeat Capital Athletic Conference foe Stevenson University, 66-55.

Salisbury's defense was airtight in the first half. Junior guard Chante' McKinney (Gaithersburg, Md.) led this defensive charge as she took the ball out of a Stevenson player's hands three different times and subsequently scored three lay-ups on the break away; she finished the half with five steals. The aggressive play lit the fire that Salisbury (9-12, 5-7 CAC) needed to continue its strong first half play and enter the locker room with a three-point advantage. Of the 66 points scored by Salisbury in the game, 25 were scored off of Stevenson turnovers.

The maroon and gold carried their strong offensive charge into the second half, starting off with a string of tight passes that led to baskets and an eventual five-point Sea Gull advantage. Stevenson (5-16, 3-10 CAC) refused to go without a fight, battling back and hitting a three-pointer that gave the Mustangs their first lead of the half with 14:58 left to play in the game. Salisbury, undeterred, pulled down a series of rebounds and McKinney hit a jumper in the paint with 13:42 left to play to quickly regain the Sea Gull lead; she finished with a game-high 16 points (also a career-high), four rebounds and a career-high eight steals. It was all downhill from there as Salisbury netted a barrage of baskets inside of the five-minute mark, sealing the win. Sophomore guard KC Curran (Malvern, Pa.) ruled from outside of the arc, hitting three of the team's four three-pointers and netting 11 points in the victory.

Two other Sea Gulls hit double-digit point totals in the game; sophomore guard Glen Charlton (Landover, Md.) finished with 10 points, eight of which came in the second half. Additionally, freshman forward Nicole Sisco (Fairlawn, N.J.) netted 14 points, scooped up five rebounds and dished out two assists. Senior forward Kylie Hall (Baltimore, Md.) pulled down 13 rebounds.

The win improves Salisbury's record against Stevenson to 6-0 since 1997. Salisbury's conference record stands at a perfect 5-0 against the Mustangs since Stevenson (formerly Villa Julie College) joined the CAC in the 2007-2008 season.

The WBCA began the WBCA Pink Zone, formerly known as "Think Pink", in 2007 as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women's basketball, on campuses and in communities. Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach, served as the catalyst for the initiative after her third reoccurrence of breast cancer in 2006. In its three years of existence, the WBCA Pink Zone has seen nearly 3,000 schools and organizations come together, reaching nearly 2 million fans and raising more than $2 million. The WBCA's charity of choice is the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, in partnership with The V Foundation. 

The Sea Gulls' final home contest of the regular season will be against CAC opponent Wesley College on Feb. 17. Before that, though, Salisbury will travel to CAC opponent Marymount (Va.) University on Feb. 15. Both games are set to tip-off at 6 p.m.