St. Mary's City, Md. – Strong first-half play carries the St. Mary's College of Maryland women's basketball team past Wesley College Saturday afternoon as the Seahawks posted a 73-57 Capital Athletic Conference victory.

Senior Sophie Pruden (Carrboro, N.C./Chapel Hill) tallied a game-high 21 points and grabbed a team-best nine boards in leading the Seahawks (6-8, 3-4 CAC) to their fifth straight win over Wesley.

Senior Shana Lewis (Bowie, Md./Bowie) had a near double-double with 17 points and season-best nine rebounds as well as season-high three steals while junior guard Matti Vagnoni (Chevy Chase, Md./Stone Ridge School) chipped in 13 points, three boards, two assists, and two steals.

Wesley (3-11, 0-7 CAC) came out on the offensive and owned a 9-4 lead at 17:06. Pruden's layup at 16:56 sparked a 14-2 run to give the Seahawks an 18-11 advantage at 12:54 as Pruden bookended the run with another layup. Two of sophomore forward Tiara White's (Philadelphia, Pa./Padua Academy) 10 points closed the gap to two at 9:30.

A pair of Vagnoni three-pointers bolstered St. Mary's lead to double-digits which the Seahawks stretched to a 44-23 advantage at halftime. Three Seahawks were in double figures at intermission as the team shot nearly 42% from the floor and went 11-of-12 from the charity stripe.

Pruden led all scorers at the break with 15 points and five caroms while Wesley's leading scorers, first-year Brionna Johnson (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) and junior Roniece Williams (Seaford, Del./Seaford), each had five. The Seahawk defense forced 10 Wesley miscues which led to 10 points on offense.

Wesley cut the deficit in half in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the second half as first-year guard Kiara Johnson (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) pulled her team within 50-40 at 13:25. The Wolverines could not get any closer as St. Mary's kept up the offensive and defensive pressure.

Williams finished the afternoon with a double-double on 13 points and game-best 12 rebounds while B. Johnson was close to a double-double with 11 points and nine boards.

The Seahawks have a tough test coming to town on Wednesday, January 22nd when St. Mary's welcomes league newcomer, No. 19 Christopher Newport University (13-2, 6-1 CAC), to the Michael P. O'Brien Athletics & Recreation Center Arena for another conference tilt at 6:00 p.m.

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