On Feb. 27, the Lady Marauders faced the Mansfield Mountaineers on the basketball court in Pucillo gymnasium. The met only to blow the Mountaineers away with a 72-42 win.

The first shot of the game was a three-pointer made by Ashley Moyer, which was one of many throughout the game. Moyer’s score was followed by two more from Dominique Stroman, with an assist by freshman Mashira Newman. Newman also assisted Jenna Craig with the next two points before she began her turn at the net.

Newman came on strong. The first shot she sank was assisted by Stroman, which brought the score to 11-0 three minutes into the first half. Then the Mountaineers started scoring.

The first two baskets made by Mansfield were from senior Mallory Moore, followed by a three-pointer by Nicole Pender.

Newman shot a three-pointer, assisted by Moyer, and then Stroman made a shot herself, but was then fouled, resulting in two points.

Craig then began her rule of the court. She made four straight shots, one of which was a free-throw. Moyer made another perfect three-pointer. Coming off a rebound shot, Green received two free-throws. Jessica Beswick grabbed two points with the assist from Aiesha Bellamy.

However, arguably the best shot of the game came at the end of the first half. With just one second left on the clock, the ball was passed to Moyer. She raced the clock, got to half court and made an amazing shot bringing the Marauders lead 15 points.

Throughout the first half Newman played man-to-man defense very well. She stuck to her opponent and never left them alone. As lead scorers, Craig, Stroman, and Moyer were on the top of their games in the first half. The score was 37-22 at halftime.

The second half of the game was the strongest for the Lady Marauders. Head Coach Mary Fleig said during the second half “We stepped our game up. We stepped up to the plate; to our level.”

Stroman began the second half with a basket assisted by Newman. Mansfield could not overcome the dominance of the Marauders on the court during this half. Craig caught her own rebound, and shot again with the swish of the basket. She then missed a jumper, but that was rebounded by Moyer. Stroman came in with a good jumper, and then Moyer made another three-point basket. Three minutes into the second half, the Marauders were in the lead by 22 points.

Then Mansfield was finally able to score. Tegan Atallah made a jumper. Then a war began between the two teams. Raquel Green made a jumper with an assist from Stroman. The Mountaineers then retaliated with a three-point basket by Atallah, but that did not discourage the Marauders. Stroman stomped on them with a jumper assisted by Newman. Then Mallory Hafer of the Mountaineers scored a three-point basket. Out of nowhere MU’s Emily Balogh came up and shot a perfect layup, but the war was not over.

Moyer came in with one of her three-pointers, bringing the score to 53-30 with a little over 12 minutes to go in the second half.

Manfield’s Moore, came back with a two-point basket, trying to catch up to the unstoppable Marauders. Gabrielle Styles made a basket, taking the Marauder lead back. With just over 10 minutes left in the second half, Stroman made a good layup bringing the Marauders to a 57-31 lead.

Craig came through with two more back-to-back shots. Green made a basket, which made the score even more spread out. The Marauders took the lead by 30 points, 61-31.

Julia Stevenson did not let that break the Mountaineer’s spirit, however. She pulled off two points with the assist of Nicole Pender, but Green was not having that. She came through with a perfect layup, bringing the Lady Marauders to a 30-point lead yet again.

Stevenson was fouled by Green, which gave her two foul shots that upped Mansfield’s score, but it was not enough. Monica Newman stepped into the game and brought the Marauders back to their 30 point lead.

Lady Marauder Miesha Cousins was then fouled by Stevenson which landed her two foul shots. The Mountaineers were enraged. Hafer shot a 3-pointer with the assist of her sophomore teammate Meredith Hafer. Carrie Shefey came into the game and shot through the Mountaineers defense and landed a layup. Less than a minute later she got a jumper, bringing the Marauders into a 33-point lead, 71-38.

Mansfield was not happy. Senior Hafer scored a three-pointer, but Mountaineer Emma Lacey fouled Raquel Flemings, bringing the Marauders back to a 31-point lead.

The last basket of the game did nothing. Flemings fouled Syndee Reeves, and that shot landed the Mountaineers a final score of 42 points. Their total was nowhere near the Marauders who left the Mountaineers in the dust with a 72-42 victory.

“We started out rocky, but we had fun with it. It was a good win for the seniors.” Forward Aurielle Mosley said. The win also gave the Lady Marauders even more confidence, “This game got us pumped. We’re ready for Tuesday. This game got us motivated,” said freshman guard Jessica Beswick.

The Marauders have a playoff game this coming Tuesday. “It felt good to finish [the PSAC] East. We have to come ready for Tuesday. It’s going to be a tough playoff game,” Sheffey said. The Marauders face as of yet an unnamed opponent on Tuesday night at home court in Pucillo during the PSAC quarterfinals.