KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Feb. 8, 2023) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's basketball team sailed to their tenth-straight victory Wednesday evening with a wire-to-wire 66-46 victory over Sarah Lawrence College on the Mariners' annual Think Pink night. USMMA improved to 20-2 (15-2 Skyline), while Sarah Lawrence fell to 7-14 (5-11 Skyline). The Mariners now have a 10-1 record both on the road and at Liebertz Gymnasium.
 
Game Files

• Box Score
• WATCH: Postgame Interview With Freshman Hannah Ramsden 

Sophomores Grace Jackson (Parma, Idaho) and Abby Stramski (Jones, Okla.) delivered keynote threes within the first three minutes and the Mariners never looked back. For the ninth-straight contest, three or more Mariners registered doubles-figures as head coach Matt Dempsey continues to get contributions up and down the roster.
 
Despite the high point totals in the box score, offense was not the Mariners' strongest asset tonight. It instead was their defense. After winning a 75-70 shootout against Mount Saint Mary on Saturday, Merchant Marine held the Gryphons to a 34% night from the field and a 3-for-11 clip from downtown.
 
The game's key moment came with 4:07 left in the opening half. USMMA was leading 24-11 despite not recording a make from the field in nearly three and a half minutes. Looking for a spark, Coach Dempsey put his freshman shooter Hannah Ramsden (Port Aransas, Texas) in the game for the first time. As they say, shooters shoot and that is exactly what Ramsden did.
 
Ramsden brought her bench to her feet by going 3-for-3 span of 2:04 in route to a 5-for-9 night from the field to finish with 10 points. Additionally, Ramsden's strong game enabled senior Lauren Hunter (Tinley Park, Ill.) to find space in the interior.
 
After six points in the first quarter Hunter was stifled offensively until Ramsden's entrance into the game. Hunter started the second quarter 0-for-3, but it was Ramsden's outside shooting that took Sarah Lawrence's focus off the Mariners' leading scorer. Hunter finished the half 2-for-4 and Merchant Marine finished the opening 20 minutes leading 34-20.
 
Not to be lost in the first half offensive shuffle was Jackson, who record nine of her 11 total points in the first half. Six of Jackson's first-half points came in a span of 2:07 in quarter number two.
 
To cement their tenth in a row, the Mariners received another strong second half from sophomore Kaira Winston (Chesterfield Va.). After dropping 11 points in the second half versus the Knights on Saturday, Winston contributed 10 second-half points tonight.
 
A 3-for-6 mark from the field in half number two complemented with a 4-for-5 night at the line notched Winston her fifth-straight game with double figures. Winston's free-throw shooting has turned the corner as well. She is 11-for-12 from the charity stripe her last two games and has raised her free-throw percentage by over five percent in the process.
 
Also in the process of occurring was Hunter's eighth-straight double-double. On the strength of a game-high 21 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, Hunter did was she is best at, scoring and possessing the basketball. USMMA outshot the Gryphons 73-56 thanks in large part to winning the rebound battle 54-36 and outrebounding Sarah Lawrence on the offensive glass 28-13.
 
Merchant Marine will shoot for their 11th-straight victory one week from tonight on Wednesday, Feb. 15, when they hit to road to take on the Pratt Cannoneers in non-conference action. In their lone meeting last season, the Mariners came out victorious over Pratt, 63-36. Tipoff for next Wednesday's game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live stats and a live video feed of the game will be available with links on the USMMA Men's Basketball Schedule Page.
 
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