ERIE, Pa. – The Salisbury University women's basketball team couldn't make an early lead stand up in a 77-68 loss to the Otterbein Cardinals to wrap up the Penn State-Behrend Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Junker Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The teams danced closely together through the opening portion of the first quarter. With the Sea Gulls trailing 4-3, Emily Dilger hit a jumper to give SU the lead, then a Kolby Brown bucket increased the advantage to 7-4 at the 6:32 mark. The Cardinals kept pace and eventually got back within 12-11 with 4:38 to go.
• From there Salisbury found its groove. Sym Deloatch scored four straight points on a pair of free throws and a layup, then Nadia Bullock drilled a three-pointer to make it 19-11. After three-of-four free throws from Hailey Ader, Brown sank two more from the charity stripe to make it a 12-0 SU run. Natalie Galaida knocked down a trey to break up the run and make it 24-14 Sea Gulls at the end of the first.
• Ashlynn Burrows opened the scoring in the second quarter with a layup that put Salisbury up 26-14. From there Otterbein steadied up and began its comeback push, going on a 12-2 run that narrowed the gap to 28-26.
• Deloatch stopped the bleeding with a layup, then Galaida answered with a jumper that made it 30-28, which it would stay heading into halftime.
• Both teams came out firing on all cylinders to start the third quarter. Katie McCrary sank a pair from the line to tie the game at 30-30, then Burrows hit one-of-two to put SU back up 31-30. The teams faced ties at 33-33 and 41-41, then after an Ader free throw Galadia nailed a jumper to give Otterbein a 43-42 lead at the 3:29 mark.
• Ader's layup moments later swung the advantage back to Salisbury at 44-43, then the teams traded punches for ties at 46-46, 49-49, 50-50 and 52-52. Galadia's pair of free throws with 18 seconds left gave the Cardinals a 54-52 cushion heading into the final period.
• Otterbein grew its lead early in the fourth quarter, going on a 6-0 run that McCrary capped with two foul shots that pushed the advantage to 60-52. Ainsley Raybold gave the Sea Gulls a spark with a triple to get it back to 60-55, and the teams traded blows until SU faced a 64-59 hole with 3:50 to go.
• Trailing 68-60 with 59 seconds left, Raybold knocked down another trey to get SU within 68-63. That was as close as the Sea Gulls would get, though, as the Cardinals closed it out with free throws in the final minute to salt away the 77-68 margin.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Nadia Bullock led the Sea Gulls in scoring for the second straight game, netting 16 points (4-of-10) and shooting 4-of-7 from three-point range. Bullock also hauled in five rebounds and swiped three steals on the way to earning All-Tourmament Team recognition.
• Ainsley Raybold shot a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and 4-of-4 from distance, good for 14 points in 13 minutes off the bench.
• Ashlynn Burrows netted nine points (4-of-8) with four boards, all on the offensive end.
• Sym Deloatch scored eight points with eight rebounds and two blocks, while Hailey Ader also chipped in eight points with five boards.
• Salisbury shot 39.3 percent (22-of-56) in the contest, including an impressive 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) from downtown. SU went 16-of-22 (72.7 percent) from the charity stripe.
• The Sea Gulls outrebounded Otterbein 39-34, including 16-14 on the offensive glass.

OTTERBEIN GAME NOTES

• Katie McCrary led all scorers with 24 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 12-of-17 from the free throw line. She also dished out five assists.
• Natalie Galadia stepped up for 20 points (6-of-8) off the bench, knocking down 4-of-5 three-point attempts.
• Natalie Allen chipped in 11 points, while Maizie King added seven points with nine boards and three steals.
• The Cardinals hit 42.1 percent (24-of-57) of their field goal attempts, going 5-of-10 (50 percent) from distance and 24-of-34 (70.6 percent) from the line.
• Otterbein won the turnover margin 22-14, forcing 11 steals along the way.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls continue their 11-game stretch away from home with a visit to Catholic on Wednesday night.
• Tipoff from Washington, D.C. is slated for 6 p.m.

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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, Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse 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, 187 conference championships and 43 Academic All-Americans.

To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.