FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Sophomore Morgan Mader (Cresco, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) scored a season-high 15 points to lead a Lycoming College women's basketball team that used 32 bench points to overpower perennial NCAA Tournament entrant Mary Washington, 63-56, on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 19, at the Cruzin' Classic at the Broward County Convention Center.
 
Mader's 15 points off the bench were one shy of her career high, while junior Jenn Grove (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) and sophomore Taylor Saunders (Hartford, Conn./Watkinson School) each posted a season-high five points to pace the Warriors (8-3 overall).
 
Sophomore Akilah McFadden (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) added 10 points, five rebounds, a block and a steal, as she hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to break open a game tied at 48.
 
The Warriors, who had led by as many as 15 in the second quarter, were able to provide just enough offense in the closing seven minutes after McFadden's threes to claim the win. When the Eagles (4-6 overall) closed within a point with 1:49 left, Mader responded with a drive and an underhanded flip of a layup that dropped while she was being fouled. She completed the old-fashioned 3-point play with 1:06 left and Lycoming hit three free throws in the final 60 seconds while Mary Washington missed its final six shots from the field.
 
The third quarter started with the Eagles jumping out with 11 straight points to take a 38-33 lead before Lycoming responded with eight of the next 10 points, as layup off the glass from McFadden gave Lycoming a 41-40 lead. After Mary Washington hit a 3-pointer, Mader was rejected on a three, but followed the ball into the left corner, where she turned and swished a 3-pointer, three of Lycoming's 22 second-chance points in the game thanks to 18 offensive rebounds. After a jumper by Saunders, Mary Washington answered with a 3-pointer that sent the teams into the fourth quarter tied at 46.
 
The Warriors jumped out of the gate against the Eagles, taking a 9-4 lead just four minutes into the game. After an Eagles' 3-pointer, the Warriors responded with a 13-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back trifectas from Mader before sophomore Hailey Dayton (Reisterstown, Md./St. Timothy's) drilled a trey. A layup from junior Jenn Grove (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) expanded the lead to 22-7 before a pair of Eagle free throws made it 22-9 at the end of the quarter.
 
Lycoming quickly hit a jumper to take a 15-point lead in the second period, but Mary Washington responded with 16 straight points, taking a 25-24 lead with 4:04 left in the half, but Mader stopped the run with a 3-pointer just nine seconds later, and the Warriors closed the half on an 8-2 run to take a 33-27 lead into the break.
 
Senior Shelby Mueller (Collegeville, Pa./Spring-Ford) finished with seven points, 10 rebounds and two blocks and Dayton added nine points, a career-high six rebounds and four assists. Senior Haley Sipple (Boothwyn, Pa./Chichester) added five points and two assists.
 
Jordan Pamlanye led Mary Washington with 15 points, seven rebounds and five steals and Taylor Barton posted 11 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Meghen Comer also added 10 points and four rebounds.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Wednesday, Jan. 3, when they head to Lebanon Valley for an 8 p.m. MAC Commonwealth game.