ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Mount Union women's basketball team defeated the Muskingum Fighting Muskies 62-43 in an OAC matchup Wednesday night at the McPhearson Academic and Athletic Complex.

The Purple Raiders (8-8, 5-4 OAC) were led by junior forward Jaime Sanborn (Twinsburg/Twinsburg) who tallied 12 points. Freshman guard Elena Rauhe (Seven Hills/Padua Franciscan) also scored in double figures with 10. Freshman forward Brin Stralka (Tallmadge/Tallmadge) secured a career/season-high eight rebounds. 

For the Muskies (6-10, 2-7 OAC), freshman guard Emily Yeager came off the bench to lead all scorers with 14 points.

Rachel Tinkey (Canfield/Canfield) got things off and running for the Raiders, scoring just two seconds after the tip. The Muskies quickly responded with a three but Mount Union would go on a 6-0 run to force a timeout. Tight defense for Mount Union would pay off as they held Muskingum to single digits in the first quarter at 18-5.

Muskingum started off the second quarter with strong inside looks, but they couldn't quite shake Mount Union's lead. The Muskies would start to close in and outscore the Raiders 17-11 for the quarter, but Mount Union would hold a seven point advantage over Muskingum at 29-22.

After the break, the Muskies got shots off quickly to continue their attempt in breaking down Mount Union's lead. Ahead by 11, the Raiders looked to spark another run until a three-pointer by the Muskies' senior guard Olivia Bescancon cut it to 36-28; marking her 1,000th career point. A number of the third-quarter shot attempts for Mount Union found unlucky bounces around the rim but the team would still manage to take their largest lead of the game thus far at 46-32.

Muskingum continued to try and chip away but back-to-back three's by Tori Rappach (Warren/Howland) followed by two powerful moves under the basket by Sanborn would give Mount Union their largest lead of the night at 57-37. The Raiders would carry out the game with a victory at 62-43.

The Raiders will next travel to Ada, Ohio to face No. 10 Ohio Northern on Saturday, January 20 at 3:00 p.m.