SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University women's basketball team started slow and couldn't keep the pace against the Cabrini Cavaliers, stumbling 68-40 on Saturday afternoon at Maggs Physical Activities Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Each side opened up the first quarter cold from the floor, combining to go 1-for-8 until Abby Wilkinson slinked in for a layup to even the score at 2-2. That set off a 9-1 run in which the Sea Gulls used back-to-back buckets from Emily Dilger and a Wilkinson three-point play to build a 9-3 advantage at the 3:15 mark.
• The Cavaliers dug in their heels and answered with five straight to close out the period. Miranda Liebtag connected from distance and Katie Rodriguez poured in a layup to cut the SU lead to 9-8 at the end of the first.
• After Abby Paolini opened the second with a triple to give CU the lead, Tori Rumbaugh started a six-point run with two free throws and ended it with a second-chance layup to make it 15-11 Salisbury at the 7:51 mark. Cabrini answered with the next seven in a row, but Dilger stopped the bleeding and the Sea Gulls nudged back in front 21-20 with 4:05 to go.
• Liebtag hit a pair from the line to swing it back to Cabrini, ultimately setting off a 12-2 surge to close out the first half. Liebtag netted seven of those points herself, including a trey with 10 seconds left to give the Cavaliers a 32-23 cushion at the break.
• Liebtag kept the train rolling for Cabrini in the third quarter, knocking down a triple that set off a 9-2 run to make it 41-25. After falling behind 44-27, the Sea Gulls steadied up and netted five in a row on a Sym Deloatch free throw and layups by Dilger and Nadia Bullock to make it 44-32 at the 3:31 mark.
• Ella Gordon answered with a jumper and Liebtag trained another from distance to get it back to 49-32. The teams then traded a free throw each as the period ended with CU up 50-33.
• The Cavaliers kept their foot on the gas, scoring the first seven points of the fourth quarter to up the margin to 57-33. CU pushed the lead as high as 30 before Deloatch's jumper in the last minute brought the final score to 68-40.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Emily Dilger led the Sea Gulls in scoring for the third straight game, netting 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting with three rebounds and two steals.
• Abby Wilkinson scored 11 points (3-of-10), going 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Wilkinson also clocked in with four rebounds and two assists.
• Tori Rumbaugh chipped in six points and a pair of steals.
• Ainsley Raybold dished out three assists and swiped three steals in 15 minutes off the bench.
• The Sea Gulls shot 30 percent (15-of-50) for the game, going 0-of-5 from downtown and 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) from the stripe.
• SU won the turnover margin 20-19, managing 10 steals on the day.

CABRINI GAME NOTES

• Miranda Liebtag proved effective in the paint and beyond the arc, registering a double-double with 19 points and 10 boards, plus four assists and three steals. Liebtag shot 6-of-12 from the floor and went a perfect 4-of-4 from long range.
• Ella Gordon finished with 10 points (4-of-7).
• Emma Brown chipped in eight points with five rebounds and three steals, while Katie Rodriguez netted seven points with seven boards.
• The Cavaliers converted 45.8 percent (27-of-59) of their field goal attempts, including 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from three-point range.
• Cabrini outrebounded the Sea Gulls 42-28, including 13-8 on offense.
• CU dished out 18 assists on 27 made baskets, with four players notching three or more helpers for the day.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls return to the road on Saturday, Jan. 14, with a trip to Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) rival and top-ranked Christopher Newport.
• Tipoff from Newport News, Va., is slated for 1 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.