Harrisburg, Pa. – Despite a relatively close first half, the Marymount women's basketball team strung together an explosive second half performance to down Penn State Harrisburg, 53-38, on Wednesday night.

The Saints improve to 11-5 on the season and 7-2 in league play with the win.

Kievanna Lacey and Leah Hurst paced the Marymount offense, registering 22 and 18 points, respectively.  The 18-point performance proves a career-high for Hurst in just her rookie season.

Despite what the scoreboard shared at the final buzzer, Marymount trailed for the better part of the first half.  Lacey eventually knotted the score at 16-16 with 8:17 remaining, and the Saints swiped a 20-16 lead following a pair of Miranda Krott free throws and a jumper from Hurst.

The 11-point run saw the Saints stretch the advantage to 23-16 with 4:52 left to play.  Marymount went on to tote a 25-22 lead into the break just moments later.

The first ten minutes following halftime saw the Saints maintain – on average – a four-point cushion.  Lacey then spouted an eight-point run all her own to put the Blue and White up 41-33 with just 3:54 showing.

Krott and Hurst followed with a layup and a pair of free throws, respectively, to put the Saints on top by ten – their largest lead of the evening so far.

Marymount's final eight points came by way of the charity stripe, as Lacey and Hurst sealed the deal from the line, 53-38.

The Saints notably outshot the host throughout the contest, posting a 41.0% (16-39) effort from the field and a 30.8% (4-13) performance from beyond the arc.  Marymount proved stellar from the free throw line, sinking 77.3% (17-22) of the night's attempts.

The Saints return to action on Saturday as they trek to St. Mary's (Md.) for a CAC showdown.  Tip time is slated for 2 p.m.