WASHINGTON – Behind a dominating 60-23 rebound advantage and 46-24 lead in points in the paint, CUA crushed Goucher 81-51 on Saturday evening in the Landmark Conference opener.  The Cardinals led 47-23 at halftime and only increased their lead from there to improve to 5-1 on the season.

Goucher actually led this one in the early going, taking a 7-6 lead on Kiara Doughty's free throws 2:24 into the game.

That was short-lived though, with the Cardinals scoring nine straight to surge in front 15-7 with 15:21 to play before halftime.

Jill Woerner's layup at the 12:59 mark put CUA in front by double digits for the first time, while back-to-back 3-pointers from Holly Janicki and Kelli Josephsen with under nine mintes to play pushed the Cardinals lead to 15.

Leading 29-16 with 6:46 to go in the half, CUA unleashed a 13-0 run to open up a 42-16 advantage, and after Mary Hagaman drained a shot from beyond the arc, the Cardinals were in front by 28.

In the second half, the lead reached 30 on Josephsen's layup at the 17:08 mark, while Woerner's 3-pointer two minutes later made it a 36-point spread.

Liz Briones' basket at the 13:05 mark pushed the lead to 38, which is the largest it would get.

Head Coach Matt Donohue was able to empty his bench and the non-starters rewarded him by keeping the CUA lead above 30.

With eight minutes to play Briones got free for a basket to make it 72-38, and after freshman Morgan Huppenthal drained a 3-pointer, the Cardinals were on top 75-40.

Alexis Stenftennagel closed out the scoring for CUA with a free throw inside the final minute.

Bolstered by its +37 rebound margin, CUA held a 19-4 advantage in second chance points.  Briones led the home team with nine caroms, while Katarina Owunna and Woerned grabbed eight each. 

Josephsen finished with a team-high 14 points, while Woerner scored 13 and Owunna added 12.  Briones and Huppenthal scored eight apiece off the bench, while Janicki and Woerner led the Cardinals in assists with three.

Goucher turned the ball over 20 times on the night and shot only 36% from the floor.  The Gophers were led in scoring by Sharnell Huff with 12 points, while TaQuasia Lambert netted nine on 4 of 8 shooting.

On Wednesday, CUA will close out its home stand when the Cardinals welcome Washington Adventist to the DuFour Center. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m.