Since the season began, lady Marauder’s basketball Head Coach Mary Fleig has insisted on the importance of preparing for what comes along with the New Year; the conference schedule begins.
Their preparations for defending their PSAC East Title began with four crossover games.
Then ranked eighth in the nation, Indiana (Pa) visited the Marauders at their home court on January 13.
It was the home side who grasped hold of control of the game through their defense. Millersville were able to hold the highly ranked opponents to a horrible shooting day (17-of-59), and Millersville
Senior Gladine St. Julien led all scorers with 17 points. Millersville upset the nationally ranked Crimson Hawks, 54-42, and stretched their record to 9-1.
Things did not shape up as well for the lady Marauders at Pucillo Gymnasium when they hit the floor, against California (Pa) Vulcans.
Once again, Millersville found themselves facing off against yet another Nationally ranked team in successive days. The Marauders gave up a season high in points surrendered, in a 70-56 loss.
Senior Gladine St. Julien fades awar for a short jump shot in the paint. Photo by Christian Shuts.
Millersville finished their four crossover games with the PSAC West, on the road against Slippery Rock and Mercyhurst.
Slippery Rock jumped out to a first half lead, but it was the visitors who bounced back. The Marauders pushed back into the lead, early in the second half, behind performances from Junior Jenna Craig and St. Julien. Craig completed her fifth double-double of the season, adding 11 points and 10 rebounds. St. Julien finished with 17 points on the day, which was a game high in her team’s 60-48 victory.
The second of the two day double header, against Merchurst, presented Millersville with another chance to celebrate. Millersville shot out the gate as Senior Jenna Philo started off the scoring, leading her team to a quick 17-2 burst. St. Julien also proved her inside dominance by scoring a game high 20 points.
The lady Marauder’s fierce defense and early hot hands on offense, knocked the home side out, and gave Millersville its second straight win, 53-54, heading into PSAC East play.
“It was a tough stretch for us. We took each crossover game one at a time,” Fleig said. “We had our best defensive efforts against Mercyhurst and Slippery Rock and need to keep up the intensity on defense during the season.”
Millersville defense of its division title began on the road, as Millersville traveled to West Chester. The opening of the PSAC East did not go as Fleig and the team had expected, though.
Millersville had the lead as time was nearing a close, yet West Chester nailed a clutch game-tying three pointer with 22 seconds left in the game. Millersville could not close out the game and wound up going down, 64-54, in overtime.
Sophomore Dominique Stroman looks for dribbling room along the baseline against the University of the Sciences. Photo by Christian Shuts.
The pain however did not stop there. Millersville’s second PSAC East opponent was Kutztown at their place. The lady Marauders went cold in the final four minutes, and saw the game slip away from them as the game neared completion. Managing only two points in those final minutes, Millersville appeared in the losing column for the second straight outing, 60-56.
The team is well aware of their shortcomings in the losses, but will not dwell on the outcome. It is a long season, and the team can not afford to lose focus on the
road ahead.
“This was not what I anticipated after the intense defensive we played with the last two games,” Fleig said. “We just do not give up as many points as we did. We played passive defense, which is not our game plan.”
However, the lady Marauders know what they must do in order to rebound from some tough losses.
“Our team needs to work on defending tougher and managing the final minutes of games,” Fleig said. “It is a long season and we had tough road games in the beginning. We will get our chances at home later in the season.”
Millersville hits the floor again on Wednesday and searches for its first PSAC East victory against Shippensburg.
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