Bengal, Bullets Shoot Down Garnet
GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- Swarthmore fell to Gettysburg, 71-53, on the Bullets home court on Thursday evening. The Bullets improve to 6-2 in Centennial conference play, while the Garnet fall to 2-5.
Garnet senior guard Jen Stevenson jump-started the Garnet offense with a foul shot and a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions, giving Swarthmore the early 4-2 lead. Two free throws by junior Jessica Fuhr and a lay-up by senior forward Cara Tigue pushed the Garnet lead to 8-3 with 17:07 showing on the clock.
The Bullets quickly found their footing with a bucket from senior forward Jen Bengel at 16:08. Bengel's layup was the 1462 nd point of her career, and breaking the all-time women's scoring record at Gettysburg set by Ann Hymes in 1996.
Bullet guard Jamie Marshall tied the game at 8-8 with a three-pointer at 16:14. Fuhr answered on the other end with an old-fashioned three-point play re-tie the game at 11.
The teams battled back and forth for the lead until 'Burg's Margaret White hit two trifectas to push the Bullets ahead 21-14. Gettysburg was 4-of-8 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes of play.
The Bullets sent Swarthmore into the bonus with 11:53 left in the half, but the Garnet shot only 7-of-15 (47%) from the line.
The Garnet (5-7 overall) came within four points with 11 minutes to play in the first half, but the team would come no closer for the remainder of the game.
Sharp-shooting from Gettysburg's Bengel and Marshall kept Swarthmore at bay. The Bullets (9-6 overall) went without a field goal for the final five minutes of the half, but managed to build a 40-27 halftime lead over the Garnet.
Bengel led all scores at the break with 11 points, while teammate Jamie Marshall notched ten points for Gettysburg. Fuhr had seven points and sophomore center Karen Berk had six for the Garnet. Front-court mate Tigue grabbed eight of her career-high 12 rebounds in the first half.
The Bullets came out of the locker room on fire, going on a 12-4 run to start the second half. Swarthmore freshman guard Melissa Grigsby connected from behind the arc at 13:24 to stop the run with the Bullets ahead 52-34. Gettysburg maintained a 20-point cushion for much of the second half, despite a 13-point performance from Berk and 10 points from Fuhr.
Bengel finished with a game-high 23 points to go along with eight board, while Marshall closed the contest with 13 points after hitting three baskets from beyond the arc.
Swarthmore looks to improve its conference standing on Saturday, January 14 th when they meet up with he Diplomats of Franklin and Marshall. Tip-off time is scheduled for 2:00 pm with the men's game immediately following.