ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Salisbury University women's basketball team clocked in their fifth straight victory, closing out the Muhlenberg Mules, 65-59, on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Hall.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Neither team scored for the first two minutes until Kaylee Otlowski broke up the dueling shutouts with a steal-and-layup. Following a quick Mules answer, Lauren Fortescue connected from distance and Ashlynn Burrows followed up with a jumper, putting the Sea Gulls up 7-2 at the 5:46 mark of the first quarter.
• Mikaela McGarvey soon got MC back on the board with a layup, then Kylie Webb knocked down a three-pointer to spark an 8-2 SU run and extend the lead to 15-6 with 3:20 to go.
• From there the Mules found their stroke, closing the first on an 11-2 run. Margaux Eripret converted a three-point play to make it a one-possession game, and Tara Szawluk's jumper tied it at 17-17 to end the period.
• After trading a lone free throw apiece to open the second quarter, Burrows nailed a two to put SU back up 20-18 and jumpstart what became a 10-0 run. Burrows hit three field goals over the two-plus minute stretch, including the capper that made it 27-18 Sea Gulls with 5:08 until the half.
• McGarvey broke up the SU run with a jumper but Webb's triple expanded the cushion to 30-20 at the 3:20 mark. On the next Mules possession Eripret sank a layup, then Emily Unger drained one from long range to make it 30-25 with 2:21 to go. Both teams went cold for the rest of the period and the Sea Gulls entered halftime with a five-point advantage.
• Muhlenberg held SU to one field goal over the first three minutes of the third quarter, whittling the deficit to 34-32 on an Eripret layup at the 6:56 mark. Salisbury's lead stood at 39-36 with 4:30 left when Burrows made back-to-back buckets, and Fortescue converted a scoop-and-score layup to rebuild the advantage to 45-36 with 3:16 to go.
• Otlowski converted a pair of free throws to push the Sea Gull lead to double digits, but Abigail Scheidel knocked down a triple to get the Mules back within 47-39 at the end of the third.
• With Salisbury on top 52-46 at the 7:03 mark of the fourth quarter, McGarvey drained a trey to make it a one-possession game, then Eripret found Sara Peretti inside for a layup to get the Mules within one at 52-51. Fortescue's jumper gave the Sea Gulls some breathing room, but Eripret immediately answered with a layup to make it 54-53 with 4:54 to go.
• After Eripret missed a pair of free throws that would've put Muhlenberg on top, Hailey Ader hit back-to-back jumpers to nudge the SU lead back to 58-53 at the 3:10 mark. The Mules stayed within striking distance, though, getting back within 60-57 with 1:14 to go on a McGarvey layup.
• The Mules had the ball in the final minute with a chance to tie, but Jada Welbon sniffed out a steal and drove all the way for a backbreaking layup to make it 62-57 Sea Gulls with 31 seconds to go.
• From there Salisbury won the game at the free throw line. After Muhlenberg sank two with 16 seconds to go, Fortescue made one at the stripe and grabbed her own offensive rebound off a miss, earning two more foul shots that she calmly sank to put the game out of reach at 65-59. 

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Lauren Fortescue led the Sea Gulls with an all-around performance, netting a team-high 14 points (4-of-9) plus eight rebounds, six assists and two steals.
• Kaylee Otlowski came one rebound shy of another double-double, scoring 13 points (5-of-10) with nine boards.
• Ashlynn Burrows scored in double digits for the second straight game, chipping in 12 points and hauling in six rebounds.
• Kylie Webb connected on three triples for nine points, while Jada Welbon also netted nine with three steals.
• All five Salisbury starters played at least 31 minutes, with Welbon staying on the floor for a team-high 37.
• The Sea Gulls shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the floor, plus 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) from three-point range.
• Salisbury outrebounded the Mules 38-34 but fell short 14-13 on the offensive glass.
• SU gave up 18 turnovers but still won the turnover margin by forcing 20 MC giveaways.

MUHLENBERG GAME NOTES

• Mikaela McGarvey led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting, plus four rebounds.
• Margaux Eripret added 16 points for the Mules while hauling in seven rebounds with two assists and two steals.
• Sara Peretti chipped in eight points with seven boards, three assists and two blocks.
• The Mules connected on 39 percent (23-of-59) of their shots, going 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) from distance.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls return to Salisbury for their final home game of the 2021 calendar year next Saturday. SU will take on Randolph-Macon as part of a women's-men's doubleheader at Maggs PAC.
• Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. with coverage beginning on the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) at 1:45 p.m.

Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 22 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 186 conference championships and 41 Academic All-Americans.

To learn more about the tradition of excellence with Sea Gull Athletics, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.