November 21, 2008
Shorewomen Get Win in Duran's Debut
Washington Downs St. Mary's, 61-55, in Season Opener

ST. MARY'S CITY, MD – The Washington College women's basketball team ended the game on a 13-2 run to knock off host St. Mary's (MD) College tonight and give Megan Duran a 61-55 win in her debut as head coach of the Shorewomen. Washington (1-0) got a game-high 23 points from junior guard Jane O'Donnell (Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) in the victory.

St. Mary's (1-3) led by as many as 11 points late in the first half and held a 36-26 lead with two minutes to go in the period before the Shorewomen scored the final seven points of the half on a pair of free throws by freshman guard Deanna Dydynski (Ellicott City, MD/Mt. Hebron), a three-pointer by senior guard Brianne Slizofski (Collegeville, PA/Pius X), and a long jumper by O'Donnell to cut the lead to 36-33.

Washington stayed within striking distance in the second half and trailed, 53-48, before an O'Donnell lay-up and free throw and a steal and lay-up by junior forward Julie Sherwood (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Warde) tied the score at 53-53 with 5:38 remaining. St. Mary's pulled ahead by one point on a free throw by Bethany Townsend, but a three-pointer by Washington freshman guard Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) gave the Shorewomen a 56-54 lead, their first of the second half, with 3:35 to play. A free throw by Jamie Roberts cut the lead to 56-55, but Slizofski extended the lead to 58-55 with a lay-up and then forced Roberts to dribble out of bounds to give the Shorewomen the ball with 1:27 on the clock. Tait then found freshman forward Meghan Lepley (Baldwin, MD/Baltimore Lutheran) for a lay-up with 1:09 to play to push the Washington advantage to 60-55.

A missed three-pointer by the Seahawks with 40 seconds remaining gave the Shorewomen the ball back. O'Donnell then made one of two free throws to extend the margin to 61-55 with 29 seconds to go and a St. Mary's turnover gave the ball back to Washington with 24 seconds left. The Seahawks did get a pair of three-pointers off in the final seconds, but could not convert as the Shorewomen held on for the 61-55 victory.

O'Donnell was the only Shorewoman to reach double figures in scoring, but Slizofski narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. Tait turned in seven points and a game-high seven assists in her collegiate debut.

Tiara Hurte notched a double-double for the Seahawks with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Allie Scott scored 12 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished out five assists. Jamie Roberts added 10 points and six boards for St. Mary's.

Washington shot 35% from the field in the game to the Seahawks' 46%, but the Shorewomen won the turnover battle by nine, committing 15 while forcing 24.

The Shorewomen return to action Tuesday with a 6:00 p.m. non-conference game at Eastern Shore rival Salisbury.

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