TOWSON, Md. – The Salisbury University women's basketball team put up a pair of 20-point quarters after halftime to secure a 66-51 win over the Goucher Gophers on Wednesday evening at the Decker Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Gophers took control early in the first quarter, building a quick 9-4 lead. The Sea Gulls rallied to get within one when Emma Wivell poured in a bucket from the paint to make it 13-12 at the 2:52 mark.
• GC would answer with layups from Kyani Quarles and Kyla Smith, building the advantage back to 17-12 at the end of the first.
• Goucher continued gaining distance over SU in the second quarter, going up by as many as eight when a Smith three-pointer made it 26-18 with 3:16 to go.
• From there the Sea Gulls dug in and rallied back for the next six. Abby Wilkinson hit a pair of free throws, then Wivell converted a second-chance layup to make it 26-22. Emily Dilger beat the buzzer with a scoop-and-score jumper, allowing Salisbury to close the gap to 26-24 at the half.
• Ashlynn Burrows opened the third quarter with a jumper, then Tori Rumbaugh nailed a jay and Hailey Ader hit a trio of free throws, swinging the lead to the Sea Gulls, 31-26, at the 7:43 mark.
• The Gophers hung in and closed the gap to 36-33 with 2:32 to go, at which point Salisbury began to kick it into high gear. Dilger converted a three-point play that sparked a 10-4 push, closed out by a Sym Deloatch layup, that built the SU lead to 46-37 at the end of the third.
• After a Quarles layup gave GC the first basket of the fourth quarter, Salisbury began truly salting the game away. Wilkinson's pair of foul shots set off a six-point flourish that eventually blossomed into an 18-4 run. SU went 7-of-7 from the charity stripe during the backbreaker, and Rumbaugh's trey gave the Sea Gulls their largest lead at 64-43 with 3:08 to go.
• GC whittled the deficit down to 15 but got no closer over the final moments of the game, and Salisbury walked away with a 66-51 margin of victory.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Emily Dilger scored in double figures for the third straight game, leading the way with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Dilger also hauled in six rebounds and swiped two steals.
• Ashlynn Burrows netted 10-plus for the sixth time in seven games, finishing with 12 points (6-of-11) and three boards.
• Hailey Ader and Abby Wilkinson each chipped in 10 points to give the Sea Gulls four double-figures scorers for the night. Ader and Wilkinson combined to shoot 12-of-13 from the free throw line.
• Tori Rumbaugh narrowly missed her own double-figure scoring night, finishing with eight points, three assists and three steals.
• Salisbury converted 38.7 percent (24-of-62) of its field goal attempts and went 16-of-23 (69.6 percent) from the charity stripe.
• The Sea Gulls shot 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) in a 22-point third quarter and connected on 6-of-12 (50 percent) in a 20-point fourth.
• SU forced 25 Gopher turnovers, winning the margin by five, and managed a season-high 14 steals.

GOUCHER GAME NOTES

• Kyla Smith led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-28 shooting to go along with five rebounds and three steals.
• Kyani Quarles finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and hauling in 15 boards, including 12 offensive rebounds.
• Kendra Lawrence chipped in eight points with 10 boards, while Sydney Nwuli added seven and seven.
• The Gophers shot 31.3 percent (20-of-64) for the game and made just 58.3 percent (7-of-12) of their free-throw attempts.
• Goucher outrebounded the Sea Gulls 46-40, including 22-17 on the offensive glass.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls return home for the first time since Nov. 9 to face Marymount (Va.) on Saturday afternoon.
• The game will serve as the women's basketball team's Hidden Opponent Game in support of mental health awareness.
• Tipoff from Maggs PAC is slated for 12 p.m. with coverage on the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) beginning at 11:45 a.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.