#18 Johns Hopkins Slips By Garnet
The 18th-ranked Blue Jays outscored Swarthmore 26-9 in the second half to fend off the upset minded Garnet, 43-37 in Centennial Conference action. The Garnet led by as many as 13 but cold shooting was its undoing.
The Garnet played tenacious defense and crashed the boards in building a 28-17 halftime advantage over the Blue Jays.
The JHU offense entered the game leading the Conference in field goal percentage, averaging 42.4% from the floor, but the stout Garnet D held them to 22.2% for the half as they converted just 6 of 27 attempts. Swarthmore also built a 29-17 edge off the glass that included 11 offensive caroms.
Karen Berk '08 came off the bench to spark the offense scoring all of her team-high eight points in the period, including two layups in the closing minutes to give the Garnet an 11-point cushion going into the break.
The Garnet continued its solid defensive and rebounding effort throughout the second half but the offense disappeared as Swarthmore converted just 2 of 27 attempts in the half.
Ali Wolf '05 sank two free throws in the opening minute to give the Garnet the largest lead of the game at 30-17. But with the offense struggling, Johns Hopkins used a 9-0 run to close to 30-26 before a Kristen Lee '05 jumper at 14:53 ended the scoreless skid at 4:16.
The Blue Jays managed to find the bottom of the net a few times to take a 35-32 advantage when Ashley Felix scored with 9:21 remaining.
The Garnet continued to shoot blanks, missing ten in a row, but the Blue Jays could not score either as two Wolf free-throws brought the Garnet to within 35-34 at the 6:10 mark.
A Julie Miller jumper and an Felix layup gave the Jays a 39-34 advantage with 3:27 left. Jen Stevenson '06 then banked in a three pointer to cut the lead to two with 1:37 on the clock. But a Miller three from the right wing with :53 remaining gave Johns Hopkins a 42-37 lead, sealing the victory.
Radiance Walters '06 added six points and matched her career-high of 17 rebounds and the Garnet closed with a 54-46 rebounding edge. Felix and Amanda Leese led the Blue Jays with 10 points each.
Swarthmore shot just 23.7% for the game, hitting 14 of 59 attempts, while the Blue Jays closed the game at 27.6% converting 16 of 58 shots.
Swarthmore falls to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in the CC, while the Blue Jays move to 7-1, 4-0.
The Garnet return to action on January 5 in a 6:00 p.m. Centennial match up at Washington.