Rae Plows Thru Bears, Tide Win
Radiance Walters '06 scored 14 points and Laura Popovics added 13 points as the Garnet used hot-shooting in the second half to bury Ursinus 66-30 for their fourth consecutive win.
Swarthmore led the Bears 23-15 at the intermission and used a quick 11-3 to open a sixteen point cushion. Debbie Farrelly '06 drained a three pointer, Kristen Lee '05 knocked in a jumper, and Walters converted three consecutive shots for the 34-18 lead with 15:13 remaining.
The trademark Garnet defense, allowing only 51.6 ppg. entering Saturday, stiffened in the second half, holding Ursinus to 20% shooting from the field. Swarthmore had given up 82 points on Thursday night to Muhlenberg, and responded on Saturday morning by holding the Bears to their lowest out-put of the season. It is the twelfth consecutive win for the Garnet over Ursinus in a series that dates back to 1921.
Swarthmore punished the Bears for sitting in a zone in the second half, shooting a season-high 57%, including six for fourteen from beyond the arc. Popovics sank her first of four three-pointers to give the Garnet a 39-21 lead 12:34 left in the game.
Popovics led the Garnet offense on a 27-9 run to end the game, even as Swarthmore emptied their bench. Laura Jorgensen '08, out all of first semester with an injury, sank a jumper at 5:09 for the first points of her career and 54-28 Garnet lead.
Walters finished with a team-high 10 rebounds to collect her seventh double-double of the season, tying her for tops in the Centennial Conference. The junior forward is now averaging 10.6 rebounds per game, second in the Conference.
Farrelly added nine points and two assists as the Garnet improve to 9-6 overall and 6-4 in the Conference. Popovics handed out a career-high four assists and Lee led the Garnet with three blocks.
Mary Kate Daley, Molly Guntli, and Alison Walker led Ursinus (7-9, 3-6 CC) with six points apiece.
Swarthmore returns to Tarble Pavilion when they host long-time rival Haverford on Wednesday, January 26th with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 p.m.