SCRANTON, Pa. — The Pratt Institute women's basketball team controlled the first half and led by as many as 12, but a second-half surge from Marywood University resulted in a 58-46 defeat for the Cannoneers in an Atlantic East Conference road game on Saturday.
Pratt (1-9, 0-2 AEC) came out strong, leading for nearly 16 minutes of the contest. A pair of early 3-pointers from fifth-year guard Kylie Grant (Dallas, Texas) helped establish a 16-11 lead after the first quarter. The gold-and-black continued to build on their lead in the second, pushing the advantage to its largest margin of 12 points, 28-16, on a jumper by sophomore Anabela Jakelic (Zagreb, Croatia) with 3:00 remaining in the half, but the hosts closed the half on an 8-0 run and the Cannoneers carried a 28-24 lead into the break.
Jakelic and Grant powered the Pratt offense, each scoring 16 points. Jakelic was a force in the paint, shooting 8-for-14 from the field and securing a double-double with 10 rebounds to go along with four blocks and three steals. Junior Emily Carlson (Utica, N.Y.) also had a strong rebounding performance, pulling down 11 boards and dishing out a team-high four assists. Lola Mactavish (Sydney, Australia) chipped in nine points.
Marywood (7-7, 2-0 AEC) found its rhythm in the third quarter, outscoring Pratt 18-8 to take a 42-36 lead. A layup by Alli Anstadt tied the game at 30-30, and the Pacers took their first lead since the opening minutes shortly after, holding on for the remainder of the contest.
Mia Blume led the Pacers with 15 points, while Anstadt added 11 points and eight rebounds.
Pratt continues its conference road stand on Wednesday, Jan. 14, against Centenary University in Hackettstown, N.J.
