FRONT ROYAL, Va. - The Gallaudet University women's basketball team cruised to its 13th win of the season Thursday night on the road against Christendom College as the Bison won 59-17.

Gallaudet (13-11) had two players reach double figures led by junior center Easter Faafiti (Pittsburg, Calif.) who scored 19 points and grabbed three rebounds. Faafiti only played 10 minutes in the first half and three in the second half. Fellow junior Nukeitra Hayes (Anderson, Ind.) added 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench in 13 minutes while freshman Ann Whited (Fishers, Ind.) netted nine points and five rebounds.

The Bison jumped out quickly against an overmatched Crusaders (2-10) team as Gallaudet made 19 of its 36 shots in the first half where they led 43-0 at the break. Gallaudet used balance among its nine dressed players as the Bison substituted early and often. The Bison were patient with the ball as they swung it around the perimeter and waited for the right opportunity to score, usually with little time left on the shot clock.

In the second half, the Bison started five freshmen as GU coach Kevin Cook allowed his graduate assistant Bridget Catanese to coach the final 20 minutes of the game in her collegiate coaching debut.  In addition to Whited the other freshmen that contributed in the win include Amy Bachtel (Columbus, Ohio), Maddie Morgan (Wilmington, Del.), Katelyn Jurney (Tulsa, Okla.), Mari Klassen (British Columbia, Canada) and Yana Novikova (Dallas, Texas). Morgan grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and added five points while Bachtel scored six points, grabbed six rebounds and made three steals. Jurney recorded a game-high four assists. Sophomore Lani Murashige (Tucson, Ariz.) made her fifth start in a row.

Jane Snyder who scored six points and brought down a game-high 12 rebounds led Christendom, a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association, offensively. The Crusaders outscored the Bison 17-16 in the second half.

GU sweeps the season series with Christendom as the Bison won 72-26 at the Field House back on November 23.

Gallaudet is one win away from tying the wins total set by the 1999-00 team (14-12) for the most wins this past decade.  GU will host nearby neighbor Trinity (D.C.) University on Saturday, February 20, at 2 p.m.