FREDERICKSBURG, VA – The #20 (WBCA)/#22 (D3hoops.com) Johns Hopkins women's basketball team outscored host Mary Washington 35-12 in the second and third quarters combined to fuel a 70-36 Blue Jay victory in the team's next-to-last non-conference game of the season Monday evening.  The Blue Jays pick up their seventh win in the last eight games and improve to 10-3 on the year, while the Eagles fall for the fifth time in six outings and slip to 7-12.
 
Johns Hopkins built an eight-point lead (22-14) at the end of the first quarter as the Blue Jays shot 56.3% (9-of-16) from the floor in the opening 10 minutes and used a 13-2 spurt to turn a 9-8 lead into a 22-10 advantage that was never seriously threatened.  Sophomore Layla Henderson's three-pointer ignited the spree and she and Michaela O'Neil combined for 11 of JHU's 13 points during the spurt.
 
The Eagles were still within eight (24-16) just over a minute into the second quarter after a Jenna Steadman layup, but the Blue Jay defense would allow just two points over the final 8:57 of the period and Hopkins closed the second quarter with another 13-2 run, this one fueled by 11 combined points from Macie Feldman (6) and Emily Collins (5), to build a 37-18 halftime lead.
 
After the two 13-2 runs in the first half, the Blue Jays used a 15-0 third-quarter run to extend the lead to 54-22 late in the period.  A Grace Soltes layup jump-started Hopkins' third significant run of the game and she scored seven of her 11 points in the game during the spurt.  A Beth Corelli three-pointer would cap the run, during which the Blue Jays hit 6-of-7 shots from the floor while forcing the Eagles into four turnovers and holding them without a point for just under five minutes.
 
Johns Hopkins would lead by as many as 36 (68-32) in the fourth quarter of what eventually would be the largest Blue Jay victory in the seven-game series history.
 
Soltes' 11 points paced another balanced scoring output for the Blue Jays, who also got 10 points from Feldman, O'Neil and Collins and nine points from Henderson and Quinn ODonnell.  Soltes and Feldman tied for the team lead with six rebounds apiece and Feldman added three assists in just 19 minutes.  Head coach Rodney Rogan subbed liberally throughout the game, the second of four in an eight-day span for the Blue Jays, and nobody on the team played more than 20 minutes in the victory.
 
The Blue Jay defense held the Eagles to just 25% shooting (14-of-56) on the night - this is the seventh time in 13 games this season that Hopkins has held the opposition under 30% shooting.  Sophie Pavlech and Maddy Jenisch tied for the team-lead with seven points apiece and Pavlech added a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss.
 
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Wednesday January 15 when the Blue Jays welcome Mount Alyosius to Goldarb Gym (5 pm).