ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- With less than a second left on the game clock, Roni Isenberg sank the game-winning shot from just beyond the left block Friday night in the Elizabethtown College women's basketball team's thrilling season-opening win over Mary Washington. Isenberg was one of the three Blue Jays in double figures.

Mary Washington led by as many as seven in the first quarter. Jordan Pamlanye stole the ball midway through the opening period and took it down the other end for the hoop and the harm. The Eagles' leading returning scorer sank her foul shot and UMW led 10-3 with 5:05 left in the first.

Elizabethtown only hit three field goals in the first, but continued to scrap and claw away at the Eagles' lead. Mikayla Ruth sank a trey and as the Jays' defense held UMW scoreless for nearly five minutes, Marissa Emlet hit a jumper in the paint to pull EC within a bucket with 42 seconds to go in the opening quarter. Mary Washington led 12-8 after the first.

Emily Thompson drained one of her game-high six threes to open up the second quarter and restore the Eagles' seven point lead at 15-8. At the other end on the ensuing possession for E-town, Isenberg knocked down a two-point shot for her first career points. Mary Washington maintained a three-possession cushion for much of the second quarter until Clare Marchese dropped in a three from the left wing to cut it to four.

The went back and forth from seven to five and then back to seven as UMW answered anytime the Jays scored. Pamlanye assisted on Maddie Shifflett's layup and it was 24-17 with 44 seconds left before the half. Ruth canned one of her two treys with 26 seconds remaining and Elizabethtown went into the locker room down 24-20.

Veronica Christ cut Mary Washington's lead to just one after coming up with a steal and converting the layup at the other end. E-town then took the lead almost two minutes later when Emlet hit a three. It lasted all of 25 seconds as Meghan Comer got into the paint for a basket and a possession later Thompson hit another three to put UMW back up by three.

Isenberg tied things up at 37 all with 28 seconds left in the third quarter and after a miss by Comer, Christ grabbed the defensive board and returned the lead back to the Blue Jays. Ruth provided the assist as E-town retook the lead.

Each possession became more and more important as the game remained within one possession. First, Thompson pulled UMW level at 39-39 to begin the fourth only to have Lydia Lawson give the lead right back to EC 20 seconds later. Thompson sank another three a little over a minute later and it was Mary Washington back in front by a point. Nine seconds after, Christ was fouled inside on her shot. Despite the contact, the sophomore made the bucket and her free throw and it was Elizabethtown by two with 7:43 left in the game.

Isenberg gave the Jays their biggest lead at four points a possession later.

It was up to as many as six after Lawson hit a pair of foul shots. Elizabethtown hit nine of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Thompson knocked home a big-time three-pointer to keep Mary Washington alive with just over four minutes to play. E-town couldn't put UMW away as they couldn't get ahead by more than four points in the final two minutes.

Christ extended Elizabethtown's advantage to three, 54-51, with 21 seconds to go. Off an inbounds pass out of a timeout, Thompson caught the ball five feet behind the arc on the right wing and launched a tear drop of a shot that swished through the net and tied the game at 54-54 with 17 seconds remaining.

A timeout allowed the Blue Jays to advance the ball to their side of the court. Ruth helped E-town avoid a costly turnover along the sideline right in front of the bench as Mary Washington pressured anyone with the ball. A shot went up with four seconds on the clock and came up short of the basket, but alertly, Christ tapped the ball before going out of bounds underneath the basket right to Isenberg. The freshman, in her first career game, received the ball just outside the block and with under a second, floated a shot that fell into the hoop as time expired and Elizabethtown emerged as the two-point victors.

Christ ended up leading the Blue Jays with 11 points while Lawson and Isenberg each had 10 apiece. Ruth finished with eight points and tied with Christ with a team-high seven rebounds. Elizabethtown shot 16-for-21 from the charity stripe. Thompson had a game-high 20 points for Mary Washington.

The win was the 15th in a row at home over a non-conference opponent since the start of the 2014-15 season. Elizabethtown will look to extend that streak on Sunday, November 11, when Lebanon Valley pays a visit to Thompson Gymnasium for a 2 p.m. showdown with the Blue Jays.