Dover, Del. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland women's basketball team returned to their winning ways Saturday afternoon with a key Capital Athletic Conference triumph over the host Wesley College Wolverines. St. Mary's posted a 62-51 road win over Wesley as four Seahawks scored in double figures.

The victory gives the Seahawks (4-9, 4-4 CAC) sole possession of fifth in the current conference standings while the loss keeps Wesley College (7-7, 3-5 CAC) and Penn State Harrisburg (4-11, 3-5 CAC) tied for sixth. St. Mary's hopes to remain in the win column on Wednesday, January 21st when York College of Pennsylvania comes to town for a CAC tilt at 6:00 p.m. on Military Appreciation Day.

Sophomore center Nina Haller (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) notched 14 points as Haller equaled game-high honors in leading St. Mary's in scoring this afternoon. Senior captain Matti Vagnoni (Chevy Chase, Md./Stone Ridge School) picked up her second double-double of the season on 12 points and career-best 10 rebounds while adding career-high six assists for the second straight game.

First-year guard Alexus Stroud (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) tied the game at 44-44 with 11:37 remaining in the contest with a jumper in the paint to cap a 16-4 Wolverine run. St. Mary's responded with a dominant run of its own, outscoring the hosts 18-7 over a span of seven minutes to regain control of the game.

Following a layup by sophomore Brionna Johnson (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) at 4:30, both sides stalled offensively and the Seahawks left Wentworth Gymnasium with the 11-point win. St. Mary's really handled the ball well today, turning the ball over only eight times.

Also contributing to the Seahawks' offensive output were guards Haley Riebling (Ellicott City, Md./Seton Keough) and Olivia Nowlin (Glenelg, Md./Glenelg). Riebling tallied 12 points off the bench while Nowlin threw up 11 and season-best seven assists plus two rebounds and two steals.

Wesley started the game with the lead, using a 5-0 start to post a 16-8 advantage at 14:23 as Johnson netted seven points in the run. The Wolverines stayed ahead thanks to the sharpshooting of Johnson and Stroud.

The duo of Nowlin and Riebling sparked St. Mary's turnaround as back-to-back threes by them knotted the game for the first time at 8:22 while another Nowlin triple and Riebling layup made it a 26-26 draw at 6:07. Vagnoni's first long-range shot of the day gave the Seahawks the lead for good, helping the team close out the half on a 12-2 run for a 33-28 halftime advantage.

Riebling and Johnson led all scorers at intermission with 10 points each as both went 2-of-4 from downtown. The Seahawks owned a narrow 27-25 rebounding margin in the first half behind a combined 11 rebounds by guards Kerri Kline (Hagerstown, Md./Saint James School) and Anna McClain (Durham, N.C./Carolina Friends School).

Johnson and junior forward Tiara White (Philadelphia, Pa./Padua Academy) finished with double-doubles for Wesley. Johnson collected game-bests of 14 points and 19 rebounds while White chipped in 10 and 10. Stroud came off the bench for 14 points while senior Roniece Williams (Seaford, Del./Seaford) hauled in 11 boards as the Wolverines won the rebounding battle in the end, 49-45.

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