SELINSGROVE, PA (January 8, 2022) -- The No. 24 Cardinals of Catholic University took advantage of a short-handed Susquehanna University women's basketball squad Saturday afternoon, as CUA knocked off the River Hawks 68-43 in Landmark Conference play from O.W. Houts Gymnasium. 

The River Hawks (8-4, 0-2 Landmark) nailed three of their four field goals to start the game with a 7-2 lead after a jumper by senior Olivia Brandt. Catholic (10-1, 1-1 Landmark) responded with an 11-0 run before SU senior Megan Emlet converted a traditional three-point play with 3:07 to go in the first quarter to stop the Cardinal spurt. CUA pushed its lead up to seven at 18-11 before a jumper by senior Sadie Comfort right before the first quarter intermission made it a five-point game at 18-13. 

The Catholic lead would hover around 10 for most of the second quarter, taking its biggest edge of the game into the halftime break at 35-22. After the intermission, Brandt made a field goal to make it 35-24, but an 11-2 run by the visiting Cardinals made it a 20-point spread with 4:45 left in the third period. Catholic's lead would swell up to 28 points late in the contest, as the Cardinals earned their first conference win of the season. 

Brandt finished with her Landmark Conference-leading seventh double-double of the season, chalking a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. Brandt also finished with four assists, two steals and a block. Junior Isabella Schwabe tallied seven points and four rebounds, while Kenzie Salvaggi finished with six points in her first career start for the River Hawks. Turnovers were problematic for SU Saturday, committing 38 on the day which turned into 41 points for the Cardinals. 

Erin Doherty registered 16 points in the win for Catholic, and Sammie McCarter came off the bench to score 12 points as well. Rachel Bussanich tallied 10 points, while Carly Mulvaney lead all Cardinal players with nine rebounds. CUA shot 36.2 percent (25-69) from the floor in the victory, going 7-of-21 from behind the arc. 

Up Next

• The River Hawks will look to get back into the win column Wednesday evening, hosting The University of Scranton (9-2, 2-0 Landmark) at 7 p.m. in O.W. Houts Gymnasium in more Landmark Conference action. 

Facebook: susquehanna.riverhawks | Instagram: @gosusqu
Twitter: @GOsusqU | Hashtags: #AllIn, #GOSU, #RiverHawkPride