Marywood Notches First Win in Home Opener
Marielle Thorsen was one of three Pacers to record double-digit points on Thursday night.

Marywood Notches First Win in Home Opener

Women's Basketball - 11/17/2011 7:57:00 PM

Box Score

Scranton, PA – Marywood University's women's basketball team opened Thursday evening's home opener with a 23-2 run and cruised to a 93-40 victory over Penn State Hazleton in non-conference action.  The Pacers level their record at 1-1 on the young season with the victory while the Lions fall to 0-2 this year.
 
Penn State Hazleton scored the game's first two points on a field goal by Taylor Smith 36 seconds into Thursday night's game, but Marywood responded by rattling off 23 unanswered points over the next six minutes to build a 21-point lead with 13:44 to play in the first half.  The Lions cut their deficit to 14 points with 9:16 to play in the opening period but the Pacers would hold a 24-point lead at halftime at 41-17.
 
Mariah Schaeffer led the Pacers with 11 first half points as the Pacers shot 53.1 percent from the floor and went 4-9 from three point range while limiting the Lions to just six first half field goals.
 
Penn State Hazleton narrowed their deficit to 47-27 four and a half minutes into the second half after opening the period with a 10-4 run, but it was all Marywood after that as the Pacers continued to build on their lead the rest of the way.
 
Overall, the Pacers shot a brisk, 55.1 percent from the floor for the game and 43.8 percent from beyond the arc.  Schaeffer finished with a game-high 18 points on 8-11 shooting from the field with one three-pointer and a free throw.  Marielle Thorsen and Ashley Murray also finished in double-figures with 11 points apiece as 13 different Pacers scored.
 
Marywood owned the glass on the evening, holding a 42-27 advantage in rebounds for the game while forcing the Lions to turn the ball over 34 times.  Maggie Presnal led all players with six rebounds while Carly Leitzel grabbed five boards for the Pacers.
 
Penn State Hazleton was paced by Christine Soltys' 10-point effort while Lisa Miller added nine points and Smith contributed eight points in the loss.
 
Marywood returns to the hardwood on Saturday evening as the welcome in St. John Fisher College for a non-conference game that is scheduled to tipoff at 5:00 p.m. in the Insalaco Arena.
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