Oh, Debbie!
Senior guard Debbie Farrelly sank a baseline jumper with half a second left to send Swarthmore to a 54-53 comeback win over Ursinus on Tuesday night in Tarble Pavilion. The Garnet improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Centennial, downing Ursinus for the 14th consecutive time.
The Bears (1-2 overall, 0-1 CC) led by as many as 13 points in the second half, including a ten-point lead with five minutes to go.
Ursinus' Molly Guntli scored in the paint with 5:03 left to give the Bears a 49-39 lead. Farrelly sank a three-pointer from the right wing, and following an Ursinus' turnover, guard Jennifer Stevenson '06 sank a jumper to cut the deficit to five.
Senior forward Radiance Walters stole the ball from the Bears' Kate McMahon at 4:10 and the Garnet fought for two offensive rebounds before Walters put in a lay-up to cut the Ursinus' lead to 49-46.
Sarah Hennessey converted a jumper on the other end to stretch the Bears' lead back to five with 3:05 left on the clock.
Swarthmore missed on its next three attempts, but junior Jessica Fuhr came through on the fourth try, converting a drive to make the score 51-48 Bears. The Garnet defense tightened once again, forcing an Ursinus turnover and breathing more life into the home crowd.
Walters brought Swarthmore within one, 51-50, with a lay-up at 1:55. Freshman guard Kylah Field grabbed a big defensive rebound and the Garnet came up the floor looking for its first lead since the 16:39 mark. Fuhr provided the go-ahead bucket, grabbing another offensive board and sinking the put-back for a 52-51 Swarthmore lead at 1:18.
The Bears came back with a layup by Jenna Whylings and forced a Swarthmore turnover with 28 seconds to go. Ursinus used two timeouts in an effort to get the ball up court. On the third try, Bears' guard Stephanie Cavalier got a step on Field near half court. The speedy Field did not give up on the play and came flying from behind to tip the ball into Garnet hands.
Farrelly brought the ball up and Swarthmore looked to take the final shot. The ball nearly went out of bounds on a reversal, but Stevenson made a great save to keep the Garnet hopes alive.
Farrelly found herself with the ball on the right wing and time running out. The senior guard shot faked and took two hard dribbles to the baseline, unleashing a 12-foot jumper. The ball hit the front of the rim, the backboard, and then rolled around and in with half a second left on the clock.
The Bears, out of timeouts, were unable to get off a final shot as the Swarthmore bench engulfed Farrelly.
Walters led Swarthmore with 11 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, while Farrelly chipped in 10 points. Field scored a career-high eight points on four for six shooting.
Guntli led four Bears in double figures with 12 points and 11 boards.
Ursinus led 27-23 at halftime, after a see-saw first-half that saw each team lead by seven points.
Swarthmore has won 14 consecutive match-ups with Ursinus, dating back to 2000.
The win is also the first Centennial Conference victory for first-year Garnet coach Renee DeVarney.
The Garnet will host Centennial rival Johns Hopkins in their next game on Wednesday, November 30. Tip off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., with the men following at 8:00 p.m.