Berk Hits 20-20 as Garnet Rally Falls Short
BRYN MAWR, Pa. - Swarthmore junior Karen Berk had 21 points and a season-high 20 rebounds yet the Garnet could not overcome a 16-point second half deficit as Bryn Mawr defeated the Garnet 53-50 in Centennial women's basketball Tuesday evening. Owls senior Amy Johnson led the way with 12 points while sophomore Jessica Allen added 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Owls (4-12 overall, 1-9 CC) took a 40-24 lead following a Johnson jumper with 15:59 left in the second half. Swarthmore (4-13 overall, 1-11 CC) scored the next 13 points to cut it to 40-37. An old-fashioned three-point play by Garnet senior Jessica Fuhr with 12:30 left and a free throw by junior guard Laura Popovics at 12:11 brought Swarthmore within 10 and forced a Bryn Mawr time-out. After a Bryn Mawr miss, sophomore guard Melissa Grigsby sank a big three-pointer from the wing at 11:26 and added another corner jumper at 9:21 to cut the Owl lead to 40-37.
The teams traded free throws before Johnson hit a three-pointer at 7:46 to put the Owls back ahead by six, 44-38. Two free throws by Driscoll pushed the Bryn Mawr advantage back to 46-38 before Berk muscled in a basket at 5:25. The junior center banked in a shot off transition to bring Swarthmore within three, 46-43, at 4:20.
Allen found freshman Shanika Bridges-King under the basket for an easy bucket at 3:33, then hit a cutting Johnson at 3:01, and finally grabbed an offensive rebound before hitting an open Bridges-King as the Owls took a comfortable 52-43 lead with 1:30 left in the game.
Berk made two lay-ups and the Owls missed the front end of two one-and-ones to make it a five-point game with 26.5 showing on the clock. Popovics hit a step-back three at 14.7 to bring Swarthmore within 52-50. Garnet immediately fouled, sending Driscoll to the line with 13.9 left. Driscoll made the first and missed the second, and Swarthmore raced up the court. Unfortunately, two desperation heaves missed their mark as the Owls broke a 28-game losing streak to the Garnet.
A low-scoring game to start, two free throws by Allen opened the game and sophomore Katie Kent made a baseline jumper at 16:12 to make it 4-0 Owls. Garnet freshman guard Lisa Schumacher got Swarthmore on the board with a bank shot from the top of the key at 15:15.
Kent made a strong move on the baseline to push Bryn Mawr's lead to six but Berk answered with a bucket in the paint at 12:50. Grigsby clicked in two from the charity stripe to make the score 8-6 at 12:18. Berk put back her own miss at 11:07 to knot the score at 8-all. Bryn Mawr ripped off a 5-0 run to take a 13-8 lead at 9:30--a free throw by Allen, a short jumper by Andrea Zambetti and a lay-up by Bridges-King accounted for the scoring. Berk brought an end to the run with another strong move in the paint at 9:19.
Kent extended the lead to 17-10 at 7:34 by sinking a jumper from the left wing. Grigsby drilled a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to cut the Owls advantage to four but Bryn Mawr's Shannon McPherson responded with a triple of her own at 5:47.
The Owls pushed their advantage to as much as 10 points, 28-18, following a pair of successful free throws by Johnson with 1:17 left. Swarthmore freshman forward Pam Costello made a lay-up with 38 seconds left and Schumacher finished off a drive in the lane as the Garnet cut the lead to 28-22 at the intermission.
Berk led Swarthmore with eight points and 10 rebounds at half while Kent paced the Owls with six points and Johnson added five points, all at the charity stripe.
Allen opened up the second for the Owls with seven points to put the home team up 35-24 at 17:53. After a Garnet turnover, Driscoll added to the Bryn Mawr lead with a three-pointer 15 seconds later and Johnson dropped in her first field goal at 15:40 to give the Owls a 40-24 lead.
Berk finished the night 10 of 23 from the floor, hitting double figures for 20th consecutive game. It is her 14th double-double of the season and sixth consecutive; it was the second time she has picked up 20 rebounds in a game (career-best is 22 boards vs. Alvernia on Feb. 16, 2006). Berk now has 991 career points and will look to become the seventh Garnet woman to break the 1,000-point barrier on Saturday in Tarble Pavilion.
For the Owls, Driscoll finished with a double-double, racking up 10 points and 10 rebounds, making 7 of 8 from the free throw line. Driscoll, Johnson, and Allen combined to shoot 18 of 24 from the line on the night.
The Swarthmore women return to action at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27 when the Dickinson Red Devils come to Tarble Pavilion.