SELINSGROVE, Pa. -- The Susquehanna University women's basketball team improved to 8-1 on the year with a convincing 59-43 victory over visiting Marywood (4-5) on Saturday afternoon at O.W. Houts Gymnasium. Winning their fifth straight, the River Hawks matched their best season start since an 8-1 showing during the 2008-09 campaign.

Junior Courtney Adams and freshman Janine Conway posted game-bests of 14 points, while senior Nikki Komara chipped in 11. Fellow seniors Lexi Biggs-Garcia and Nicole Gault tallied eight and seven, respectively, and each grabbed a team-best eight boards. Adams pulled down six to go with her game-high three blocks.

The game opened with the teams trading three pointers before Marywood secured a 10-5 advantage at 4:44. Susquehanna closed out the quarter with 12 unanswered powering to a 29-16 gap at the half. The River Hawks pieced together a 24-6 stretch highlighted by nine points from Adams and eight from Conway.

Marywood, who has dropped three of its last four, controlled the third period. The Pacers snuck within six, 37-31, at the 3:23 mark on a 13-2 run, but a Gault jumper secured Susquehanna a double-digit margin entering the final frame. SU never looked back. Scoring the first six of the fourth, it tallied an 18-point cushion at 1:41, the largest of the game, en route to victory.    

The River Hawks shot 39.3 percent from the floor to the Pacers' 25.5 percent. Marywood, who entered the game averaging 63.8 points per game, was held to a season-low point production. Susquehanna owned the boards, 42-34, and held a 6-2 edge in blocks and a 6-4 gap in steals.

Susquehanna returns to the hardwood on Dec. 28 against Gwynedd Mercy at the Land of Magic Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla.