BUENA VISTA, Va. — The Southern Virginia University women's basketball team fell to Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) foe Mary Washington 58-53 Wednesday night in Knight Arena. 

Katie Garrish and Savanna Christensen led the way for the Knights (14-5, 2-3 CAC) with 17 points apiece. Garrish finished with 11 rebounds, giving her the double-double, while Christensen finished with five boards. Coming off the bench, Cory Stout led all bench players with four points, two assists, and four rebounds. Tory Martin of Mary Washington recorded a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds to lead the way for the Eagles. 

Beginning the game, Southern Virginia University wasted no time getting on the board, only taking seven seconds before Christensen made the first layup. Both teams traded points bringing the score to 10-7 in favor of the Knights off a Christensen layup. Mary Washington (17-6, 3-2 CAC) used a 9-0 run initiated by a Tory Martin layup to take a 16-10 lead with 3:02 left in the quarter. Both teams ended the quarter, scoring two more points each to go into the second quarter with the Eagles up 18-12. 

With 7:16 remaining in the second, Karissa Highlander of Mary Washington made a layup that started a 7-0 run for the Eagles, elevating their lead to 27-15. Mary Washington outscored the Knights 14-9 in the second quarter, led by Emily Thompson's five points.

At the break, Mary Washington had the 32-21 advantage. The Eagles outshot the Knights 48 percent (12-for-25) to 35.7 percent (10-for-28) from the field. Mary Washington held the advantage on the boards outrebounding Southern Virginia University 18-13. The Knights were led by Christensen's eight points. 

The Eagles held the advantage on the Knights through most of the third quarter until Southern Virginia University used an 11-2 run to cut their deficit to three points 39-36 with 3:19 remaining in the third off of a Sophie Wright three-point shot. Off a layup from Mary Washington, Southern Virginia responded off two made free throws by Stout, making the score 41-38 with 2:21 remaining. The Eagles wrapped up the third quarter scoring seven consecutive points extending their lead to ten points over the Knights 48-38 going into the fourth. 

Southern Virginia University went on a 5-0 run off of a Garrish layup and free throw and two Christensen free throws cutting the deficit to five points 50-45 with 5:03 left in the game. Mary Washington answered with four more points of their own, making it 54-45 with 4:14 remaining. The Knights would not go away answering with an 8-0 run to bring themselves within one point 54-53 with 1:20 left in the game. 

The Knights defense held strong in the final minute of the game, forcing a shot-clock violation, giving possession back to Southern Virginia University with 0:47 remaining. The Knights turned the ball over but forced a last-second three-point shot from Mary Washington before the shot-clock ran out, and Stout retrieved the rebound. With just 11 seconds remaining, the Knights had an opportunity to win the game, but Mary Washington blocked a final shot from Southern Virginia University, forcing the Knights to foul with one second remaining. The Eagles finished the game with four made free throws off fouls from the Knights to secure the 58-53 victory. 

Southern Virginia University was even with Mary Washington in points off turnovers 14-14 and points in the paint 28-28, but the Eagles edged the Knights in rebounds 38-33. Both benches recorded valuable points, but Mary Washington held the advantage 11-6 off the bench. 

The Knights look to bounce back on Saturday, Feb. 1, traveling to York, Pa. to take on York College in a rematch game from an early-season thriller. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.