The Salisbury University women’s basketball team has struggled in Capital Athletic Conference play this season.
Salisbury sits at fifth in the CAC standings with a 1-4 record in the conference. Only St. Mary’s College of Maryland sits behind with a winless record in conference play.
But the Sea Gulls (8-12, 1-4) have had strong showings despite their lackluster record. Last Saturday, Salisbury led CAC-leading Christopher Newport University 54-47 going into the fourth quarter, but a late surge earned the Captains the victory.
Salisbury looked to use this game against York College as an opportunity to improve its record and play on the court going forward. A late comeback bid would fall short as Salisbury dropped its third straight contest 67-53.
Head coach Kelly Baskow said despite the slow start, she liked the grit she saw from her team in the second half.
“The fight and determination that was shown was really encouraging,” Baskow said.
The contest started slow, as both teams failed to score through the first two and a half minutes. The Spartans (13-7, 4-1) got the upper hand in the first quarter, putting up 14 points while limiting the Gulls to six points, and two made field goals in the quarter.
Salisbury continued to struggle in the second quarter, particularly on the defensive end. Junior guard Dalina Julien helped the Sea Gulls off the bench by hitting a three-pointer and playing tough defense on the Spartans.
Despite this, the Sea Gulls found themselves trailing York 39-17 at the half. They also faced a 25-15 deficit in rebounding at the break.
Salisbury would begin the second half with a fast start by scoring four quick points. The Sea Gulls also dialed up the defensive effort in the second half, outscoring the Spartans in the third and fourth quarters.
Sophomore guard Jada Welbon credited the resurgence after halftime to a great halftime speech in the locker room.
“A talk in the locker room helped us get it together,” Welbon said. “We talked and told each other what we needed to do and held each other accountable.”
Welbon finished second on the team with nine points with two assists in the game.
Freshman forward Emily Dilger scored six of her team-leading 11 points in the fourth quarter. Salisbury was able to cut the York lead to 13 with six minutes remaining, the smallest deficit the maroon and gold would face in the remainder of the game.
Salisbury outscored York 36-28 in the second half. Having lost by just seven to CNU and dropping a one-point affair to Stevenson prior, the team has some adjustments to make in order to win the close games moving forward.
Dilger said the team needs to improve at the fundamentals to help win the close games.
“We need to work on the simple stuff like boxing out and rebounding,” Dilger said.
By COREY YOUNG
Staff writer
Featured photo: Marshall Haas image.