Pacers Extend Win Streak, Solidify Hold on First Place
Alyssa Olson led Marywood to their school record 11th straight win with a game high 17 points Wednesday at Centenary

Pacers Extend Win Streak, Solidify Hold on First Place

Women's Basketball - 2/8/2017 7:58:00 PM

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Hackettstown, N.J. – A strong second half extended Marywood University's women's basketball school record win streak to 11 games, and the Pacers solidified their hold on first place in the Colonial States Athletic Conference with a 70-58 win over Centenary University Wednesday evening in New Jersey.

Marywood improved to 16-6 and 12-1 in the league while the Cyclones slipped to 17-5, 10-3 in the CSAC.  The Pacers now hold a two game edge over four teams for the top seed and today's win marked the Pacers fourth straight (and 9 of 11) by double digits.

Marywood got a game-high 17 points from Alyssa Olson.  Erika Thomas added 16 while Natasha Hessling finished with 12.

Marywood got out to an early 9-5 lead but the Cyclones held the Pacers scoreless for more than five minutes and held a 13-11 lead at the end of one quarter. 

Marywood's scoreless drought ended with 0:39 left in the first when Erika Thomas scored off a feed from Catie Nealon on a fast break.  Kylie Devlin led Marywood with five of their 11 points thanks to a layup off the tip and a three pointer.

After the Cyclones opened the second with a trey, Marywood responded with a 16-4 run that produced the largest lead of the game, a seven point (27-20) advantage for the Pacers.

Centenary would get to two twice in the final 1:10 of the half, but after the Cyclones cut the Marywood lead to 30-28 on a Rachel Edwards three with nine seconds left Marywood ran the floor and Nealon snuck through the paint for a lay-in at the buzzer, giving the Pacers a 32-28 lead at the break.

Julia Presant led all scorers at the break with 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting for the hosts.  She was 3 of 4 from three point range.  The rest of the team went just one of four from long.  Hessling finished the first half leading Marywood with eight on 4 of 8 shooting.  The Pacers struggled from long distance through the first two quarters, hitting just two of six attempts.  Nealon had seven at the break on 3 of 4 shooting which included one three.

A quick 6-0 run early in the third gave Marywood a cushion (38-30), and the Pacers would maintain around a 10 point lead for the rest of the game.  Centenary was never able to break Marywood, and the Pacers' defense limited the hosts to 34.4% shooting in the second half and 34.9% for the game.

Perhaps the impact performance of the game, Marywood's defense held Presant to just two points in the second half.  While three other Cyclones reached double digits, a balanced scoring attack from Marywood kept the hosts at bay.

The Pacers are back in action Saturday at Immaculata University. Tip-off is set for 1:00 pm.
 
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