Box Score Lady Marauders flex muscles in 97-59 road win over Marygrove
 
DETROIT, Michigan – Despite being on the road, the Central State supporters come out in full force to see the Lady Marauders win in dominate fashion, 97-59, over Marygrove College on Monday night.

"We have a lot of girls from the area and it was great to see the CSU fans out in full force to support our players," said CSU Head Coach Sheba Harris. "The number of fans in the stands made it feel like a home game and it was great to deliver a victory for everyone who came out and cheered us on. We are all very grateful for the support."
With seven players with Southwest Michigan ties, the Lady Marauders gave its fans plenty to cheer about on their way to the largest margin of victory this season. Making her CSU debut, Sierra Harley was inserted into the starting lineup and quickly made an impact by scoring 8 points in the first quarter as CSU took a 22-17 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. In the second quarter, CSU began to take advantage of Marygrove's lack of size as 6'2 center Kourtni Perry led CSU on a 10-3 run and a 45-28 lead at half.

With Perry playing well, the Lady Marauders held a 32-6 advantage in points score in the paint and a 20-0 edge in second chance points.

The formula remained the same for CSU as they continued to punish Marygrove in the post throughout the second half. The Marauders manufactured a 10-0 with baskets from Destinee Russell, Kayla Horn and Ghameerah McCullers to balloon the CSU lead to 25. Perry finished Marygrove off with 10 points in the fourth quarter to push her team ahead by as many as 35. With CSU in full control, the Detroit crowd erupted once more as Russell and Lakayra Carlisle, two players from the city, scored in the final minutes as CSU ended a 4-game losing streak.

CSU finished with a 78-16 edge in points scored in the paint and outrebounded the Mustangs, 85-30.

Perry led CSU with 23 points and 14 rebounds in just 20 minutes of play. Playing their first game in a CSU uniform, Sierra Harley and Falon Edwards made impacts throughout the game. Harley finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assist while Edwards chipped in with 8 points. Both players earned high praise from their coach after the game.

"We weren't sure if Sierra and Falon would be able to play tonight or if we would have to wait until Thursday. When we found out that they were available, both were slotted into the starting lineup and they did a great job despite a limited knowledge of the plays and defensive assignments," Harris said. "My hope was that they both would gain some confidence in tonight's game."

The Mustangs were paced by a game-high 28 points from Elisha Major. MC fell to 4-13 on the season.

Improving to 4-8 overall, the Lady Marauders turn their focus to improving their 1-5 conference mark during an upcoming 3-game road trip to Alabama with SIAC games against Miles College, Tuskegee University and Stillman College.

"We hope to build off this win," Harris says. "We can really help ourselves in the conference standings with a successful trip down south. We have to find a way to gain so momentum over these next few weeks and the way we perform on this next road trip will be crucial to obtaining our goals."

CSU plays Miles (8-5; 3-1) on Thursday in Fairfield, AL at 5:30 pm.