Bodur Busts Bears
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Sophomore guard Ceylan Bodur registered her first career double-double for Swarthmore, leading the Garnet to a 69-50 win over Ursinus in Centennial Conference women's basketball action at Tarble Pavilion Saturday afternoon.
The oldest women’s basketball rivalry in the Centennial Conference (beginning in 1921), Swarthmore won the 83rd meeting, pushing their overall record to 9-8, and 6-4 in the Conference. Ursinus fell to 4-11 and 3-7 in the Centennial.
Bodur (Turkey, Istanbul / Roberts College) had a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds while forward Kathryn Stockbower (Ft. Washington, Pa. / Upper Dublin) posted 16 points and 11 rebounds to get back on the double-double trail (her Centennial-leading 15th of the season). Senior guard Melissa Grigsby (West Chester, Pa. / West Chester East) tied a career-high with eight assists on the afternoon.
Ursinus was led by junior Julie Brown, who scored all 14 Bears' bench points, while freshman Kristy George added 13 points and dished out five assists. Freshman Ryann Burke was just one rebound shy of a double-double, totaling 10 points and nine boards.
Ursinus got off to a strong start Saturday, opening a 10-5 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Swarthmore’s struggles were due to the three quick turnovers and lack of rebounds, but junior forward Pamela Costello (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford) hit one of her three trey-bombs to get the Garnet started on a come-back run.
Swarthmore quickly posted an 11-0 run that was sparked by Grigsby lay-up to take the lead (17-16) with 6:50 left in the half. The run was halted by an Ursinus field goal from Julie Brown.
For the final six minutes of the first half, the lead changed hands five times. As the buzzer rang ,Swarthmore was ahead three points with a score of 28-25. Ursinus scored 10 of their points off turnovers and had 12 additional scores in the paint.
Swarthmore emerged from the locker room with purpose, posting an 11-2 run that ended with a three-pointer from Costello at 14:34. Stockbower surged in the first five minutes of the half, scoring 10 points and Swarthmore led, 45-33. The Garnet continued to be aggressive, posting their largest lead of 21 points (64-43) with 2:57 remaining in the game. The Garnet cleaned up on the glass, out-rebounding the Bears, 25-11, in the second half.
In the midst of a three-game homestand, Swarthmore will host long time rival Haverford on Wednesday, January 28th. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 6:00 p.m. in Tarble Pavilion.