Big Second Half Sinks Marlins

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The Salisbury University women's basketball team outscored Virginia Wesleyan 43-27 in the second half Wednesday to defeat the Marlins 61-48 in the regular season opener for both squads.

The Marlins held a 21-18 lead at intermission behind a strong defensive first half. Virginia Wesleyan held Salisbury below 25% shooting in the first 20 minutes as the Sea Gulls went 0-5 from three-point range.

Salisbury held an 8-5 lead with 3:31 to play in the first after Megan Konig converted on a jump shot. The Marlin defense kept the Sea Gulls off the board the remainder of the half while going on a 7-0 run to take the lead.

Naeemah Morris drew a foul the next trip up the floor, converting on one of her free throws. Following two successful defensive stops, Reagan Holmes drew contact and got to travel to the line where she made both to cut the lead to even the score at eight. Virginia Wesleyan forced a turnover the next trip up the court, capitalizing for a Jayla Harris jumper on the other end. Raya Berkley capped off the scoring in the quarter with a layup with 16 seconds remaining.

The Marlins extended the run to 10-0 before Salisbury managed to score at 7:53 to cut the lead back to 15-10. The Sea Gulls reeled off six more points to go up 16-15 before Mak McSweeney ended the run with a layup off a Harris assist.

VWU continued to lead, holding a 32-27 advantage on a Jada Lewis layup with 2:52 to play in the third quarter. Salisbury scored the final six points of the period to take a one-point lead into the fourth.

The Sea Gulls scored the first five points of the final quarter, taking a 38-32 lead, the largest lead of the game to that point. The Marlins tried to rally on several occasions, cutting the lead to four, 41-37 with 6:37 remaining on a Morris free throw. Salisbury scored the next nine points over a span of 4:35 to go up 50-37 with two minutes remaining, virtually putting the game away.

Harris connected on a three-pointer at 1:42 to cut the lead to 50-40, but that would be the last made basket for the Marlins until the final minute of action.

Konig finished with 19 points and seven rebounds for Salisbury (1-0) while Kaylyn French added 11 points and Mary McDonagh contributed 10.

Harris led all scorers with 21 points for Virginia Wesleyan. Holmes and McSweeney added seven points each.

Salisbury held a narrow 43-39 margin on the boards, but escaped with the victory behind 21 made free throws, converting at an 80.8% clip.

Virginia Wesleyan (0-1) travels to Mary Washington on Friday for competition in the Hyatt Place Tipoff Tournament.