St. Mary's Md. - The Catholic University of America women's basketball team opened its 2017-18 season with a 60-41 victory over St. Mary's College of Maryland on Wednesday night.

Senior Briana Bull racked up a game-high 17 points in her Catholic debut. The preseason All-American shot 7-of-12 from the field and made both of her free throw attempts. Bull tallied four steals and a block in the season opener and pulled down seven rebounds.

Sophomore Sydney Poindexter recorded a game-high nine boards while classmate Megan Stafford grabbed seven.

Catholic Head Coach Matt Donohue nearly exhausted the bench during the midweek game with 10 Cardinals who recorded points and 15 women who registered a least one rebound. Senior Samantha Cowan and freshman CC Mooney led the Catholic reserves with nine points apiece. Mooney and classmate Kate Parker each tallied four rebounds off the bench.

Poindexter collected Catholic's first three points of the season on a layup and completed foul shot. Bull followed, going 3-of-3 from the field to give Catholic nine unanswered points within the first four minutes of the game.

The Cardinals followed their game-opening run with multiple completed shots from Mooney and Cowan along with additional points from Bull as they outscored the Seahawks 21-15 in the first period.

Catholic carried its momentum and went on a 12-5 run through the second quarter to gain a 33-18 lead at the halftime break.

Poindexter got things started for Catholic in the second half with back-to-back free throws. The Cardinals continued to control the court and gained 56-29 advantage after three quarters.

With under eight minutes remaining on the clock St. Mary's went on an 8-0 run but the Seahawks efforts would not be enough to close the gap. Catholic rookie Cristin George sank a jumper in the final minutes to bring the Cardinals final tally to 60-points.

Up next, the Cardinals travels to New London, Conn., where they will take on the Bears of the United States Coast Guard Academy on Sunday, November 19. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.

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