MEDIA, Pa. – Brielle Kelly led four Mounties in double-figure scoring and Mary Kate Rumbaugh notched a double-double to open the Michael Whitling era with a 86-61 win at Penn State Brandywine in Mansfield's season opener on Tuesday.
 
"We played really hard and it was good to get out on the court and compete against another opponent" explained Whitling. "I'm really proud of how our ladies came out and performed tonight."
 
It marks the first career victory for first-year head coach Whitling who joined the Mountaineers in July after serving as an assistant at perennial power Gannon.
 
Kelly went 8-of-16 from the field to register 17 points and pulled down eight boards including five offensive. Tianna Jackson hit a pair of treys on her way to 16 points and also dished out a game-high six assists. Rumbaugh recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, seven coming on the offensive glass.
 
Alyssa Mullins was the fourth Mountie in double digits with 13 points. Melanie Taylor scored all nine of her points in the second half.
 
Brandywine's Nikki Velez hit four treys on her way to 17 points to lead the Lions.
 
Mansfield (1-0, 0-0 PSAC) scored the first 11 points of the game in under three minutes to jump out to an early lead and force a Brandywine timeout. The Lions slowly worked their deficit down to just three points with under two minutes to play in the first quarter before Mansfield ended the period with a 16-10 lead.
 
In the second quarter, Mansfield started to pull away from the Lions, leading by as much as 15 points, before taking a 36-24 lead into the break.
 
Taylor opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but a 6-0 Brandywine (0-1, 0-0 PSUAC) run brought Mansfield's lead down to single digits. The Mountaineers closed out the quarter on a 16-6 run to lead 55-36. The Mountaineers continued to outpace Brandywine in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
 
Mansfield held a big 49-30 rebounding advantage and pulled down 23 offensive boards in the game.
 
Both teams were stymied by turnovers with Brandywine committing 22 and Mansfield 21.
 
The Mountaineers head right into PSAC action this weekend by hosting Seton Hill and California on Saturday and Sunday at First Citizens Community Bank Court at Decker Gymnasium.