Arlington, Va. – Poor second-half play doomed the St. Mary's College of Maryland women's basketball team Monday night. After only trailing by four points at halftime, St. Mary's succumbed to a 52-30 Capital Athletic Conference setback at the hands of the league-leading Marymount (Va.) Saints.

The loss drops St. Mary's (6-13, 4-8 CAC) into a three-way tie for sixth in the CAC standings with Penn State Harrisburg (8-11, 4-8 CAC) and Wesley College (5-14, 4-8 CAC). The Seahawks return home for their next game, hosting the University of Mary Washington (16-3, 10-2 CAC) on Wednesday, February 3 at 6:00 p.m. Mary Washington claimed a 67-45 win on its home court on December 2.

Junior center Nina Haller (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) was the only St. Mary's player to break double digits tonight, tallying 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. As a team, the Seahawks matched a season-best 10 blocks for the third time this year and first-year forward Kobe Chaney (Annapolis, Md./South River) led the way with five to equal her season-high.

St. Mary's kept it tight in the first half. The Seahawks tied the game twice in the first quarter but a three-pointer by sophomore guard Leah Hurst (Crofton, Md./St. Mary's Annapolis) and three free throws proved the difference as Marymount claimed a 12-9 at the end of one.

The Saints (16-3, 11-1 CAC) stretched their lead to six to start the second quarter on a long-range shot by first-year guard Tyffani McQueen (Rahway, N.J./Roselle Catholic). St. Mary's stayed on their heels and reclaimed an 18-17 lead at 2:46 on a jump shot by sophomore captain Kerri Kline (Hagerstown, Md./Saint James) and again held a one-point lead 36 seconds later.

Marymount's 5-0 run to end the half gave them a 24-20 advance at intermission. Haller led all scorers with eight while the Saints' were paced by guards Kiki Laux (Centerville, Va./Westfield) and Kievanna Lacey (Morrisville, Pa./Morrisville) with five points each.

Holding the Seahawks to just a pair of made free throws in the third period, Marymount built a 40-22 advantage and never looked back.

McQueen and Laux each finished with 10 points to lead Marymount in its fourth straight win while this week's CAC Player of the Week,  sophomore Nicole Viscuso (Phoenix, Md./Hereford), grabbed a team-best 12 rebounds. The Saints dominated the glass and collected a 50-27 rebounding margin.

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