FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Women's Basketball team pulled out their best offensive performance of the season in a 97-75 win against Mansfield at home on Monday night.

Both teams had a slow offensive start to the game, as through the first three minutes, sophomore Julie Spinelli split a pair of trips to the line while the Mounties made a pair of layups to hold a 4-2 lead. Spinelli then kick-started a 9-2 run for FSU with a triple, followed by threes from sophomore Ayla Hileman and redshirt freshman Sophie Nichols. Redshirt sophomore Mandy Roman then got to the line to hit both, while Nichols hit another pair of treys either side of a Spinelli lay-in to go up 21-12 with less than three minutes left in the period. Mansfield sunk a three and a pair of freebies in hopes of not letting the game get away, but junior Jenna Muha hit back with a jumper in the lane to stay ahead by double figures. With just under two minutes remaining in the quarter, MU split a trip to the line followed a three to get within seven, but the Bobcats ended the frame with redshirt sophomore Riley Nelson getting the ball over half court to Hileman, who stepped into a long-range trey for a 28-18 advantage. 

Spinelli started the second period on a layup after being found by freshman Raegan Ogle, followed by the Mounties sinking a three and a jumper to get the deficit back into single digits at 30-23. The momentum was quickly halted by another Spinelli lay-in, followed by another from Muha and a Hileman triple to pull ahead 37-24. Mansfield again worked their way back into the game, going on a 9-2 run as FSU could only manage one field goal over a three-minute stretch, getting within 39-33 with three minutes to go. Senior Caitlyn Sullivan helped end the run by jumping to block a pass and earn a steal, as Nichols netted a left-hand layup while converting an and-one before nailing a three, while the former then found Spinelli down low to grow the lead to 14. In the last minute, MU sunk a three in hopes of taking some momentum into the break, but freshman Ella Sabatos collected a loose ball under the basket before finding Nelson for a buzzer-beating trey to end the first half up 50-36.

The first three minutes of the third period were all Frostburg, as they scored 13 straight points from a three by Hileman and layups by Roman, freshman Zaria Gaskins, and Muha, who also went four-of-four at the line as the advantage ballooned to 63-36. It took four minutes for the Mountaineers to get on the board, with a triple that was quickly followed by a Roman layup and an and-one to stay up by 27. The teams then traded points, as Spinelli, Sabatos, and Gaskins combined for four layups and a 76-49 lead. In the final two and a half minutes, the Mountaineers had a layup, and and-one, and a perfect trip to the line, while Nelson had a tip-in and sophomore Laekyn Flinn found Sabatos for a layup before netting a jumper of her own, increasing the advantage to 82-54. 

FSU continued their dominance into the fourth, starting off with Spinelli converting an and-one followed by Muha stuffing a shot before making four from the line between a pair by MU to make the score 89-56. Mansfield went on a quick 10-4 run over the next 90 seconds, with Frostburg scoring on a lay-in by Muha and a jumper by Spinelli to lead 93-66 at the halfway point of the period. The final four minutes wouldn't see much offense from either side, as Ogle found freshman Karlee Hawkins for her first collegiate field goal, as she also came up with a steal that set up classmate Josie Cross going perfect from the stripe. The Mounties netted a layup, back-to-back jumpers, and three combined free throws for some late offense, as FSU came out on top 97-75 as the clock hit zero.

Spinelli had a double-double on the day with a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds. Muha (16), Nichols (14), and Hileman (12) all also reached double-digit scoring, as the former fell two rebounds shy of a double-double, while Roman led the team in assists (6) and steals (4).

With the win, FSU improves to 3-3 as Mansfield falls to 1-5. The Bobcats are back at on the floor Wednesday, December 3, as they hit the road to play West Virginia Wesleyan at 5:30 PM. For more information, please visit frostburgsports.com.