The Millersville women’s basketball team defeated rival Cheyney University at home in Pucillo gymnasium last Wednesday. The 75-64 win was a meaningful victory for the team. Earlier in the season, Cheyney handed the Lady Marauders their only loss in what would otherwise have been a 12-game winning streak.

The beginning of the first half usually marks a Marauder lead for the women’s team, but Cheyney quickly put an end to that routine.

After freshman Mashira Newman scored three points in the first minute, neither team sank another basket for the next two until Angel Stephens completed two foul shots. Her teammates followed her precedent and quickly added to the Wolves’ total. Cheyney accumulated 12 unanswered points in the next five minutes.

With just over seven minutes left in the first half, the Lady Marauders got serious. A layup by Jenna Craig and Newman each brought the Cheyney lead down to a manageable nine points, and soon Newman, Balogh, and Mosley quickly tied up the score with 4:43 left on the clock.

Slowly but surely, the women’s team struggled to the top of the scoreboard until the end of the half, where the Marauders headed to their locker room with a five-point lead. The score was 34-29.

A jumper by Craig started off the second half. Raquel Green and Newman then began their rule of the court in the game’s second half. Approaching two minutes into the second half, Green put the Marauders ahead by seven.

Barely two minutes later, Green was fouled by Cheyney’s Stephens and made both of her baskets. With an assist from Newman, Green once again added two for the Marauders.

Layups by Newman, Mosley, and Balogh put Millersville up by 10 with 13:23 left in the game.

As the clock dropped under the 10-minute mark, Cheyney was in possession of the ball, but they hardly had control. A defensive rebound off Newman had put the ball in the hands of Georgia Anderson. Anderson had to quickly make another rebound as her teammate missed the basket. She then missed her own shot as she was blocked by Gabrielle Styles. The next eight points were traded back and forth between Green and Moyer until the Marauders were up by 12 with a score of 64-52.

The Wolves recognized the Marauder threat and Green was fouled three times in the final two minutes. Newman and Balogh were also fouled as the game wound down. Balogh’s two were Millersville’s final baskets of the game.

Green scored 19 points in the second half, and Newman had an astounding 21-point game, while still managing four assists. In her overall 34 minutes on the court, she added four steals to her seasonal record.

The Lady Marauders won 75-64 over the Cheyney Wolves. Senior guard and forward Balogh said “The game against Cheyney was the one that we were definitely waiting for. It was important to show Cheyney and the rest of the conference there’s a good reason why we are number one in [PSAC] East. To avenge that first loss was big.”

Less than 74 hours later, the team took to the road to meet Bloomsburg University. At their last matchup, the Marauders embarrassed the Huskies with a 68-45 victory.

In this game, Bloomsburg was first to the basket, but Newman’s layup soon put Millersville ahead by one. The first half was well-played by both teams as the Marauders and Huskies traded the lead during the game’s first 20 minutes.

A three-pointer by Moyer at the 12:49 minute-mark made the Marauders the frontrunners with a five-point lead. However, Moyer’s basket was quickly nullified by Huskie Kelsey Gallagher, and then completely erased by Dana Wieller.

Four minutes of scoreless yet intense gameplay later, Green converted a rebound off Newman’s missed layup into a single point lead for the Lady Marauders. She added two more baskets in the following two minutes, and Millersville was once again ahead by five, with an overall score of 16-11.

Not to be outdone, Bloomsburg began a 10-point steak, running the clock down to 1:48, which then turned the lead over to Bloomsburg.

Sticking with the back and forth theme of the first half, Millersville used the remaining minute and a half to return to a three-point lead. The resurgence was a team effort to which Styles, Moyer, Newman, and Craig all contributed. At the end of the first half the score was 24-21 Millersville.

The game resumed with a battle to the basket. The two competitors continually made defensive rebounds off missed layup opportunities, but it was not until Green was fouled by Giselle Lara that either team managed to make it onto the scoreboard.

Seven minutes into the game’s last half, Millersville had pulled ahead by ten. However, the lead was not to last. The Huskies slowly whittled away at their deficit until the game was tied with just 7:37 remaining.

Both teams felt the pressure as the clock wound down and the game heated up.

A foul on Mosley gave the Marauders a single point lead, but a Huskie basket tipped the scales in the other direction. Then, Green’s layup and subsequent foul shot saw the Marauders into a one-basket lead. Yet Bloomsburg’s Wieller made sure to tie the score not 20 seconds later.

Seemingly unsettled by the score, Millersville mounted a comeback that brought them nine points and a score of 49-40.

Although Bloomsburg eventually combined four baskets for seven points, Millersville accrued the same amount for a final total of 56-47.

Green was the game’s lead scorer with 22 total points. Moyer also reached double digits for the Marauder team. As usual, Newman only added to her seasonal steal total. Her new school record now rests at 89 steals, the second-best in the division.

The two games brought the women’s basketball team their third straight PSAC division title. Balogh says the team is “so excited about the title.” She echoes Green’s statement from earlier this season. “It definitely places a target on our backs for conference tournaments,” she said.

The team is now 11-1 in conference games, and 21-4 overall. Kutztown remains their closest rival, but the Golden Bears have now fallen to 8-4 in the conference. With only two games left in the regular season, the division title now belongs undeniably to Millersville University.