Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG – Sophomore guard Noelle Powell poured in 22 points, junior guard Imani Brown had 19 points and seven rebounds, and East Stroudsburg University used more strong play from its reserves to hand Millersville a 90-81 defeat at Koehler Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.

Senior forward Allison Howard totaled 17 points in 19 minutes to lead a Warrior bench which outscored the visitors by a 29-5 margin. ESU (14-7, 10-7 PSAC) won its fifth-straight game and avenged a 56-53 defeat to the Marauders (9-13, 7-10 PSAC) back on Jan. 6.

The Warriors had the last word in a whistle-filled affair which had a total of 49 fouls and 62 free throw attempts. Two Millersville players fouled out and three players on each side ended the contest with four fouls.

Little separated the teams in the opening quarter, with ESU holding a 22-18 advantage at the end of the frame. Powell and sophomore guard Ann McKnight each sank 3-pointers in a 10-4 run by the home side to begin the second which opened up the lead to 32-22. The Warriors led by as many as 11 points before ultimately taking a 43-34 lead into the intermission.

ESU forced 12 Millersville turnovers while committing only three of its own in the first half, and the Warriors had a 16-0 edge in points off turnovers. The ESU bench also outscored Millersville's by a 20-0 margin in the opening 20 minutes, led by 12 from Howard and five from freshman guard Tiffany Lapotsky.

Howard is now up to 1,193 points for her career, moving her past Maryellen Onofre (2003-07) for ninth place on the program's all-time scoring list. She also added three rebounds to tie her with Sue Richards (1982-85, 636 rebounds) for ninth all-time in that category. Howard was 4 for 8 from the field and 8 for 10 from the free throw line.

Brown and senior guard Madison Tamburini made 3-pointers in a quick 8-2 run to begin the second half, which upped the lead to 51-36 and forced another Marauder timeout. The Warriors were 10 for 28 overall from beyond the arc, sinking 10+ long balls for a fifth time this season.

Two free throws by senior guard Rachel Falkowski gave ESU its largest advantage of 67-46 with 2:08 left in the third quarter. Millersville used a 15-5 run to cut the deficit to 11 points early in the fourth, but the visitors were unable to get within single digits until the final seconds of the contest.

Powell reached the 20-point plateau for a fourth time this season, doing so for the first time since a 22-point effort against PSAC East leaders Shippensburg on Jan. 18. She was 8 for 16 from the floor, 3 for 8 from long distance and 3 for 4 from the free throw line.

Brown has scored in double figures in each of ESU's last five victories, and she led the team in rebounds for a fourth-consecutive game.

Aunjel Van Brakle and Alayah Hall each tallied 21 points, while Celeste Robinson added 20 for the Marauders. They combined for 62 of Millersville's 81 total points.

The Warriors are off on Wednesday; they will look for their first six game winning streak since 2007 next Saturday at West Chester. ESU is currently a half-game ahead of the Golden Rams (9-11, 9-7) for second place in the PSAC East standings. Next Saturday's contest is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Notes:

ESU's 90 points were the most against Millersville since a 90-78 victory on Feb. 5, 1986.

The Warriors scored 29 points in the third quarter, their most in any frame during the 2016-17 season.

Powell now has 44 made 3-pointers on the year, placing her sixth on ESU's all-time single season list. Onofre has the record with 63 made 3's in 2005-06.