Garnet Fall to Panthers in the Swarthmore Tip-Off Tournament
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The Middlebury women's basketball team defeated host Swarthmore 85-66 to win the 2007 Swat Tip-Off Championship Sunday afternoon in Tarble Pavilion.
The Panthers (2-0) never trailed as Tournament MVP Emily Johnson (Lower Gwynedd, Pa. / Mt. St. Joseph) scored 19 points and had five assists. Middlebury junior Ashley Barron (Brockton, Mass. / St. Johnsbury [Vt.]) scored 12 points with five assists, earning her way onto the All-Tournament team as well.
Middlebury raced to a 20-5 shot in the first five minutes on the strength of 7-for-9 shooting from the field, including three treys. Swarthmore senior forward Karen Berk (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford) led the Garnet (1-1) back into the game, making four of five from the field in the first 10 minutes as to cut the margin to single digits at 23-15. Berk was named All-Tournament after finishing with a game-high 21 points. Ceylan Bodur '11 (Istanbul, Turkey / Robert College) showed off her offensive game as she score 15 points and dished out four assists. Captain Pam Costello '10 (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford) scored in the double-digits for her second game in a row, recording 13 points.
Heidelberg (1-1) won 57-45 over Eastern (0-2) in the consolation round. Heidelberg senior Amanda Campbell (Pataskala, Ohio / Watkins Memorial) scored her 1,000th career point on a foul shot with 9:08 to play as she tallied a total of 13 points. Junior Brittany Skolnicki (Lorain, Ohio / Clearview), an All-Tournament nod, led all scorers with 18 points, including 13 in the second half, as the Fighting Student Princes built on a one-point (21-20) halftime lead.
The Eagles pulled within three at 47-44 with 3:08 to play after a three-pointer by sophomore Joelle DeCarlo (Holland, Pa. / Plumstead Christian), but Heidelberg ripped off the next eight points to put the game away.
Freshman Shanelle Timothy (Philadelphia, Pa. / West Catholic) enjoyed a breakout game for the Eagles, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. All-Tournament selection DeCarlo led Eastern with 14 points, and senior Mandy Kuiken (Pompton Plains, NJ / Eastern Christian) added 11, including three triples.
2007 Swarthmore Tip-Off Tournament
Saturday, November 17
Game 1: Middlebury 69, Heidelberg 59 BOX
Game 2: Swarthmore 87, Eastern 47 BOX
Sunday, November 18
Consolation: Heidelberg 57, Eastern 45 BOX
Championship: Middlebury 85, Swarthmore 66 BOX
All-Tournament Team
Joelle DeCarlo, Eastern, So., Guard (Holland, Pa. / Plumstead Christian)
Brittany Skolnicki, Heidelberg, Jr., Guard (Lorain, Ohio / Clearview)
Karen Berk, Swarthmore, Sr., Forward (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford)
Ashley Barron, Middlebury, Jr., Guard (Brockton, Mass. / St. Johnsbury [Vt.])
Emily Johnson, Middlebury, Jr., Guard (Lower Gwynedd, Pa. / Mt. St. Joseph) MVP
Swarthmore will continue their non-conference schedule as they host Elizabethtown on Tuesday, Nov. 20 with a tip-off time of 7:00 pm.