Box
Score
Washington, D.C. - Despite having three players
in double figures, the St. Mary's College of Maryland women's
basketball team fell short of notching a season-opening win Tuesday
night as host Catholic University posted a 74-71 victory over the
Seahawks in non-conference action.
St. Mary's (0-1) erased a 16-point deficit with 8:24 remaining
in regulation as senior captain Stephanie
Saint-Aubin (Bowie, Md./Elizabeth Seton) sparked a 23-11
run that was capped by a three-pointer from freshman guard
Pui Sham (Springfield, Va./W. Springfield) as the
Seahawks pulled within 70-66 with 22 seconds left in the game.
However, a pair of free throws by freshman guard Jill
Woerner (Providence, R.I./St. Mary's Bayview) and a lay-up
by freshman guard Jenny McGann (York, Pa./York
Catholic) at 00:10 sealed the win for Catholic as back-to-back
baskets by senior captain Alex Wenger (Baltimore,
Md./Perry Hall) were not enough to force overtime.
Junior Brianna Peterson (Garnerville,
N.Y./North Rockland) paced Catholic (1-1) with 20 points, seven
rebounds, and four assists while freshman forward Katarina
Owunna (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Alvernia) added a
double-double on a game-high 17 rebounds and 13 points.
Joining Peterson and Owunna in
double-digit scoring was McGann with 15 and senior
Kate Robinson (Emmitsburg, Md./Catoctin) with 10.
St. Mary's opened up the game with a 5-0 run before two free
throws by Peterson at 18:34 finally put the
Cardinals on the scoreboard. Wenger returned
the five-point margin with her jumper a minute later but Catholic
tallied an 18-12 run to gain control of the remainder of the first
half and boast a 42-29 lead at halftime as
Peterson led all players with 12 first-half
points.
As a team, Catholic shot 44.4% from the floor compared to the
Seahawks' 35.2%. Turnovers were even at 25 apiece but the
Cardinals made 15-of-19 from the free throw line to keep the edge.
In her first game back since missing the 2008-09 season,
Saint-Aubin, the former Capital Athletic
Conference Rookie of the Year, recorded a double-double on a
game-high 24 points and 11 caroms. The league leader in
steals for two years straight, Saint-Aubin had a
game-best four steals and a career-high two blocks while
Sham tallied 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from
downtown in her collegiate debut. Junior guard Megan
Seeman (Frederick, Md./Linganore) added a dozen points,
two assists, and two steals while Wenger grabbed a
career-high 14 boards and chipped in eight points.
St. Mary's returns to action this weekend as the Seahawks
welcome Roanoke College and Widener University to the ARC Arena for
the Cherry Cove/Seahawk Tip-Off Tournament. SMCM will open up
the tournament with Roanoke on Friday at 6:00 pm. Roanoke and
Widener will square off on Saturday at 2:00 pm before St. Mary's
faces Widener on Sunday at 2:00 pm.
