St. Mary's City, MD-- The St. Mary's College of Maryland Women's Basketball Team (7-5) welcomed the Bison of Gallaudet University (2-11) this evening (Jan, 11) for a United East Conference Matchup. The Seahawks were able to use a strong fourth quarter to catch the Bison and take the game by a final of 62-59.

How It Happened

• Gallaudet held a 14-12 edge over St. Mary's after the first quarter of play. The two teams went back and forth, as each squad held a lead at different points over the first ten minutes of play. Stephanie Howell scored back to back buckets to end the quarter and keep the Seahawks within striking distance.

• The Bison began to gain some separation from the Seahawks to start the second period and held a five point lead for much of the quarter. Karon Williams was able to give the Seahawks positive momentum going into the halftime intermission when she converted on an old fashioned three point play. Williams finished through contact in transition and gave her team a spark going into the break. St. Mary's still trailed by four at halftime. 

• Sam Blaylock cut the Bison lead to just one midway through the third quarter. Blaylock was able to take advantage of Bison defenders closing out too hard and knocked down back to back lay ups to make it a 36-35 ball game. Williams then followed by putting in a mid range jumper that gave the Seahawks their first lead since the beginning stages of the first quarter. Despite the positive momentum, the Bison were able to regain control by going on a 9-2 run to close out the quarter. Gallaudet led, 45-39.

• Things looked bleak for the Seahawks to begin the fourth quarter. Gallaudet opened things up by extending their lead to eight, their largest of the game. Just when you thought the Bison were going to start to run away with it, the Seahawks responded in a large way. St. Mary's went on a 7-0 run that featured five points from Sam Blaylock and a clutch jump shot from Karon Williams. The Bison and Seahawks once again went back and forth for the remainder of the fourth quarter, exchanging the lead often. With 1:17 remaining, Stephanie Howell converted on a huge jump shot to give St. Mary's a one point advantage. After a nice defensive stop, Karon Williams extended the lead to three with a clutch jump shot of her own. The Bison were able to finish a layup their next time down the floor and forced Karon Williams to knock down two pressure filled layups the possession after. The game came down to one last possession with eight seconds remaining and the Seahawks forced the Bison into a missed three pointer that would have tied the game. St. Mary's held on, 62-59. 

Inside the Box Score

• Karon Williams had a team high 24 points and grabbed three steals 

• Sam Blaylock chipped in 20 points and knocked down four three-point balls

• Melanie Aquilar had a team high seven rebounds. 

Up Next

  Jan. 14 | 1:00 PM | vs. Penn State Harrisburg | St. Mary's City, MD

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