ARLINGTON, Va. – The Marymount University women's basketball team came out strong and did not look back to take an NCAA Division III Championship first-round contest, 68-48, over Gettysburg College on Friday night at the Converse Family Fieldhouse.

The Saints took a 5-2 lead in the first two minutes on a three-pointer by freshman Symantha Shackelford and would not relinquish their advantage for the rest of the game.

The Saints held Gettysburg to just 18.2 percent shooting in the first quarter, pulling away for a 22-8 lead by the end of the frame. The team got to the foul line early and often, hitting 13-of-16 shots from the charity stripe in the quarter.

"Our defense has really led the charge all year for us," Head Coach Ashlee Rogers said. "We were able to come out and get some strong traps, and the girls did a nice job of anticipating those, getting some steals, and turning those into points."

Sophomore Katie McShea tallied eight points, while senior Abby Fisher netted seven, combining for 10 foul shots.

Layups from Fisher and junior Kathryn Ryan kept the momentum going in the second quarter, and the team pushed its lead to 20 with a pair of free throws from junior Aidan Phillips.

Marymount reached halftime with a 37-21 advantage, led by 12 points from Fisher.

Gettysburg got the Saints lead down to 13 in the third quarter, but that is as close as the Bullets would get.

Senior Gabriella Haddad put away eight points to help the team take a 49-30 lead into the fourth, and the team cruised to victory from there.

Marymount's defense stifled the Bullets for the game, holding them to 32.6 percent shooting, including 18.2 percent from three. The Saints, also, dominated the boards, outrebounding Gettysburg, 43-25.

"Something that we preach every day is defend, rebound, and run," Haddad said. "I think that we came, today, ready to defend, rebound, and run, and everything we got today, really backed us up."

Fisher led the way with 17 points, while McShea netted 16 and pulled down 13 rebounds for her 17th double-double of the year.

The Saints will now host George Fox University on Saturday, March 7 in the second round of the NCAA tournament; the game is set for 7 p.m., at the Converse Family Fieldhouse.