SALISBURY, Md. – The No. 20 Salisbury University women's basketball team used a 42-point second half to push past St. Mary's College of Maryland, 71-50, in Capital Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night at Maggs Physical Activities Center. 

Trailing for a majority of the first half, the Sea Gulls (17-1, 11-0 CAC) claimed their first lead of the game by the 4:50 mark. Senior Courtney McManus on the play prior found senior Anna Hackett for a three-pointer to draw the score even before Hackett attacked the offensive glass on the next series and turned it into two points off a good jumper for a 19-17 lead. 

Salisbury continued the momentum swing, as sophomore Lauren Rothfeld connected for four points in a 20-second stretch. Senior Sarah Seipp connected with Rothfeld on a good layup for the first basket. Keeping the pressure on into the next series, the sophomore would push a Seahawk turnover into two points in transition for the six-point lead. 

St. Mary's (4-12, 4-7 CAC) kept it close for the rest of the half, as Salisbury took a four-point advantage into the half, 29-25. The Gulls shot 36.1 percent from the field through the first 20 minutes, led by Hackett's seven points. 

Coming out of the break, Salisbury started to separate itself from the Seahawks, kicked off by a five-point run to start the half. Seipp got things underway with a good three-pointer before senior Melanie Mocniak connected on a jumper to give the Gulls a nine-point lead. 

A pair of free throws by Hackett at the 14:35 mark gave SU its first double-digit lead of the game, but the scoring wouldn't slow down there. Just minutes later, Seipp ignited an 11-point run for the Sea Gulls, extending the advantage to 20, 55-35. Seipp scored nine of the 11 points in the run and recorded two steals, while senior Aleisha Hobbs added a jumper of her own. 

The Seahawks made their attempts to chip away at the deficit, but SU kept its distance for the remainder of the game to keep its unblemished record in the league intact. 

Hackett paced the Sea Gull offense with a game-high 17 points, while Seipp chipped in for 16 and junior Kathy Albornoz added 12. Seipp also had a game-high eight rebounds, six of which were offensive. 

Salisbury remains at home for its next game, as Southern Virginia University comes to town for another conference tilt on Saturday, January 31. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.