MIAMI, Fla. - Playing its first ever game as a ranked squad, the No. 24 Widener University women's basketball team raced to a big lead early and withstood a third quarter rally as the Pride downed the Washington (Md.) Shorewomen 73-52 at the HoopMIA D3 Holiday Shootout on Tuesday afternoon.
 
"We played a tough Centennial Conference opponent today in a tough environment," said head coach Alia Kintner. "I thought our team did a nice job of keeping our heads up when Washington made its run early in the third quarter. We applied full court pressure and went on a 10-2 run in the last three minutes of that period and never looked back."
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Devan Rimmer led the way for the Blue and Gold with 21 points, connecting on 9-of-15 shots from the floor. She is averaging 24.5 points per game in her last four contests.
• Kyra Schenk posted 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds. She also had four assists and a block.
• Jordan D'Ambrosio scored 11 points in 14 minutes off the bench. Perfect in four field goal tries, two of them from beyond the arc, she also helped defensively with three steals.
• WU posted its second best shooting day of the year, hitting 48.4 percent (30-of-62) of its shots.

 
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

• With the win, the Pride is now 10-0 on the season, the best start ever in program history during the NCAA era (1981-82 to present).
• Earlier in the day, Widener garnered its second ever national ranking, coming in at No. 24 in the D3hoops.com poll. Its only previous entry was in the postseason poll in 2012-13. Since the Blue and Gold was not ranked to open the 2013-14 season, Tuesday marked the first time WUWBB ever played a game as a ranked team.
• Rimmer moved into fifth place all-time on the Widener scoring list as her 21 points pushed her career total to 1,363.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pride jumped out early, scoring 23 of the first 29 points, en route to a 25-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. Widener shot at a blistering pace in the opening 10 minutes, connecting on 12-of-17 attempts, including a 4-for-4 effort from Schenk. The second stanza saw the Shorewomen come back, cutting the lead to eight with just more than a minute remaining before Schenk's fifth bucket of the half put the Blue and Gold on top 40-30 at intermission.
 
The third quarter was a closely contested battle as an 11-4 run from Washington chopped the lead to 49-45. Widener responded, ending the period on an 8-0 spurt capped by a trey from D'Ambrosio, establishing a 57-45 advantage heading into the fourth. The Shorewomen scored the first basket of the final 10 minutes, but the Pride dominated the rest of the way, closing the game on a 16-5 run in the final nine minutes, holding Washington to 1-for-8 from the field and forced six turnovers.
 
UP NEXT
Widener plays its final game of the 2019 calendar year, taking on Ursinus at the Holiday Shootout on Wednesday, December 18. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.