Women's Basketball 1/25/2022 12:00:00 AM

Gallaudet moves to head of United East Conference standings

Box Score

WASHINGTON - All eyes were tuned into Tuesday night's United East Conference women's basketball showdown between Gallaudet University and St. Mary's College of Maryland here in an empty Field House as the no spectator policy continues this week. The closely contested game between two of the top United East teams saw the host Bison prevail with a 63-55 victory when the dust settled.

The victory moves Gallaudet (8-7, 6-2 United East) into first place in the conference standings with a 6-2 record (.750 winning percentage) in United East play as teams get to the midway point of the conference schedule.

The Bison trailed early against the Seahawks (7-8, 5-3 United East) as the visitors jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead. GU turned the tables and used a 16-7 run to take an 18-16 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. The two teams both scored nine points in the second quarter as the Bison led 27-25 at the half.

St. Mary's regained the lead late in the third quarter as they scored 19 points and took a 44-42 lead into the fourth quarter. The Bison made their move in the final quarter of regulation as they quickly tied the game and used a 11-0 run to take a 53-44 lead at the 6:45 mark. From there, GU held onto the lead and made the most of their possessions to run clock and score points.

The win is the third straight for the Bison who move above .500 for the first time this season.

Sophomore forward Malia Zornoza (Riverside, Calif.) led the Bison with 15 points while sophomore forward Cassidy Perry (Frederick, Md.) recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds to go with three blocks and three assists. Senior guard Emelia Beldon (Frederick, Md.) had a solid game with nine points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals as she marches closer to reaching 1,000 career points. Beldon is only 14 points away from reaching the milestone.

Sophomore forward Serenity Fry (East Los Angeles, Calif.) finished with 11 points and six rebounds while fellow sophomore guard Sunita Schmidjorg (Austin, Texas) added eight points, five assists, three rebounds and two assists. Freshman forward Hannah Puent (Indianapolis, Ind.) tallied six points and gathered nine rebounds and made one block off the bench.

Senior guard Cassidy Kupchinskas led the Seahawks with 16 points and five rebounds in the loss.

Prior to the start of the game, the Gallaudet Athletics Department and new Athletic Director Warren Keller recognized Head Coach Stephanie Stevens on her 100th career win, which took place last Saturday, January 22, on the road at Lancaster Bible College. Coach Stevens is now 101-122 overall since the 2012-13 season (nine seasons).

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