Swarthmore Rallies For Victory
CHESTERTOWN, Md. -- Swarthmore freshman Kathryn Stockbower posted her 20th double-double of the season and classmate Ceylan Bodur completed a 10-point comeback with a scoop lay-up with 35 second left to lead the Garnet to a 68-65 win in Centennial action on a snowy Wednesday night in Chestertown, Md.
Stockbower (Fort Washington, Pa. / Upper Dublin) shot 13-of-19 from the field for a game-high 28 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Garnet sophomore forward Pam Costello (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford) added 11 points and a career-high nine assists, Bodur (Istanbul, Turkey / Robert College) chipped in 10 points and senior guard Laura Popovics (Gorham, Maine / Gorham) also established a new career-high with nine helpers.
The Shorewomen (9-15, 6-11 Centennial) were led by sophomore guard Jane O’Donnell (Cape May Court House, N.J. / Wildwood Catholic) with 19 points and senior guard Elise Conway (Silver Spring, Mary. / Paint Branch) who contributed 14 points, nine assists and no turnovers in 36 minutes.
Washington built a sizeable second –half advantage off some sharp shooting. Shorewomen wing Christie Rogers (Davidsonville, Mary. / Archbishop Spalding) sank a three-pointer with ten minutes remaining and Conway’s fade-away three-pointer, with the shot clock expiring, pin-balled into the basket for a 59-49 Washington lead at the eight-minute mark.
The Swarthmore comeback started with consecutive lay-ups by Costello and Bodur (right). A deep three-pointer from junior guard Melissa Grigsby (West Chester, Pa. / West Chester East) got Swarthmore within four points, 62-48. Swarthmore then broke through the Washington pressure as Costello found Stockbower open under the basket—the freshman scored the hoop as the Garnet made it a two-point game, 62-60 Washington.
O’Donnell sank a deep three coming out of a Washington time-out but the Garnet countered with a successful Stockbower post move. Costello then made an open-court steal and raced off to a fast-break lay-up and the deficit was just one, 65-64 with 1:29 left.
After two Shorewomen misses, Bodur penetrated against the off-side of the Washington zone, finishing a scoop lay-up on the left side to give Swarthmore the lead, 66-65 with 35.4 left.
A three-point attempt by the Shorewomen glanced off the side of the backboard with Bodur securing the rebound. Popovics alertly got the ball ahead to Stockbower, who finished the lay-up with two seconds left.
A desperation heave by Washington was off the mark as the Garnet picked up their fourth Centennial win of the season.
Mother Nature brought a cold weather system to the Eastern Shore on Wednesday afternoon, but that did not deter the Garnet women from showing the hot hand early (48.5% from the field in the first half). Bodur, Costello and Popovics canned triples in the opening five minutes as Swarthmore opened up a 15-8, forcing a Shorewomen timeout at 15:11.
The Shorewomen rattled off a 9-3 run, capped by a pair of free throws by Brenda Lucas (New London, Pa. / Avon Grove) at 10:50.
Stockbower’s turnaround jumper gave Swarthmore a four-point lead but Washington’s resident thief, Conway, picked off an errant Swarthmore pass and finished the fast-break layp-up to even the score at 20-all with 6:30 left in the half. Conway, the Centennial leader with 3.22 steals per game, would finish with three more on the evening.
The Garnet continued to drill three-pointers (Bodur nailed her second of the half at 5:56), hitting at a 45.5% clip (5 for 11) in the first half.
Conway put the home team up for the first time with a driving lay-up at 2:04 and then pushed the advantage to 38-34 with a pair of free-throws. Berk made a nice high-low pass in the middle of the Washington zone to Stockbower, who finished the lay-up to make the score 38-36 at the intermission.
Swarthmore (7-16 overall, 4-13 CC) pounded the ball inside to its talented forwards, getting 15 points and six rebounds from Stockbower. Popovics established her new career-high with seven assists in the first twenty minutes alone.
Conway directed Washington with nine first-half points and five assists while O’Donnell also dropped in nine points.
Stockbower’s 13 boards give her 315 for the season, the second-highest total recorded by a Centennial freshman (Garnet alum Heather Kile ’02 holds the record with 355, set in 1999).
The Garnet return to Tarble Pavilion for the final game of the season, hosting rival Haverford College on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 2:00 p.m. A full slate of festivities are scheduled, starting with the annual Alumnae game at 10:00 a.m. and then the traditional Senior Day pre-game ceremony. Swarthmore will honor seniors Karen Berk, Popovics and Kristen Traband shortly before tip-off.
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