GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – The Salisbury University women's basketball team used a Kolby Brown scoop-and-score to take a lead with five seconds left in overtime, but the Gwynedd Mercy Griffins answered at the buzzer to deal the Sea Gulls a heartbreaking 80-79 loss on Monday night at The Griffin Complex.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Sea Gulls jumped ahead early in the first quarter, taking an 8-4 lead at the 6:06 mark after a jumper by Abby Wilkinson. The Griffins soon answered, eventually tying it at 10-10 and using an 11-4 push to close out the first with a 21-14 lead.
• After a Kristen Newsome jumper built the GMU advantage to 23-14 at the beginning of the second quarter, Salisbury went on a tear to get back into the game. Kolby Brown ignited the rally with a three-pointer, followed by two Ashlynn Burrows buckets to cut the hole to 23-21. Cayla Sharkey answered with a basket, but Wilkinson and Emily Dilger nailed jumpers to tie it 25-25 at the 4:20 mark.
• The Griffins strung together the next five, including a three-point play from Lynzie Eggers that made it 30-25, but the Sea Gulls punched back and used a Tori Rumbaugh jay to make it a one-point game at 32-31 heading into the half.
• Burrowed opened the third quarter with a jumper that put SU on top 33-32. After the teams traded scoring chances, GMU used a 7-0 run to build a 42-35 lead at the 6:25 mark.
• Emma Wivell stopped the bleeding and more with a jumper that set off a 10-2 push, flipping the advantage back to SU, 45-44, with 3:34 to go. Eggers responded with back-to-back treys to make it 50-45 Griffins. Salisbury dug in and clawed back to within 52-49 as the third came to an end.
• GMU came out swinging in the fourth quarter and built an 58-51 lead. Down 61-55 at the 6:07 mark, Rumbaugh nailed a three that jumpstarted the Sea Gulls' latest rally, culminating with a Burrows fastbreak layup to tie it at 65-65 with 3:37 to go.
• Salisbury took a brief 67-66 advantage on two Dilger free throws at the 2:24 mark, but Haley Crossley's layup swung it back to GMU, 68-67. The Sea Gulls faced a 72-69 hole with 24 seconds to go when Brown found Rumbaugh for a game-tying triple. Dilger then forced a steal on the ensuing Griffin possession, sending the game into overtime all square at 72-72.
• The teams continued their dance through a tight extra session. With SU leading 77-76 inside of a minute to go, Eggers calmly drained two free throws to put the Griffins back up 78-77. Salisbury missed two shots at the other end and couldn't get up a third offering as Elise Sylvester stole the ball and GMU took a timeout with nine seconds to go.
• Brown came up with a clutch steal on the ensuing inbound, though, and drove all the way to the bucket for a go-ahead layup, vaulting the Sea Gulls ahead 79-78 with five seconds left.
• Not to be outdone, Sylvester drove down the length of the court and found Eggers inside for a last-second layup, sealing a stunning 80-79 victory for the Griffins.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Ashlynn Burrows led the Sea Gulls with 20 points on 10-of-20 shooting for her second 20-point output of the season. Burrows also hauled in six rebounds and dealt three assists.
• Kolby Brown netted a career-high 17 points (7-of-12), including the would-be game-winner late in overtime. Brown packed the stat sheet with eight boards, four assists and four steals.
• Emily Dilger netted 16 points (7-of-10) with seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
• Tori Rumbaugh set her own career high with 12 points, including the game-tying three-pointer in the final minute of regulation.
• Hailey Ader hauled in a career-high 10 rebounds and scored four points with two blocks.
• Salisbury shot 40.7 percent (36-of-86) for the game, going 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from deep and 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from the free throw line.
• SU assisted on 24 of its 35 field goals, with Alex Bull distributing six assists and Abby Wilkinson five.
• The Sea Gulls outrebounded GMU 59-41 and doubled up the Griffins, 25-12, on the offensive glass.

GWYNEDD MERCY GAME NOTES

• Lynzie Eggers led all scorers with 25 points and went a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe.
• Haley Crossley secured a double-double with 23 points (8-of-18) and 12 rebounds, plus five assists.
• Elise Sylvester chipped in 14 points with five assists, while Cayla Sharkey went for seven points, 12 boards and six blocks.
• The Griffins connected on 36.1 percent (26-of-72) attempts from the floor and went 23-of-29 (79.3 percent) from the charity stripe, attempting 21 more free throws than SU.
• GMU forced 12 steals and won the turnover battle 21-17.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls conclude their 11-game stretch away from home at Goucher on Wednesday night.
• Tipoff from Baltimore is set for 5:30 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, 188 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.