Eagles Earn Comeback Win
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The Mary Washington women's basketball team came back from a 15-point deficit to earn a 51-47 win over Wesleyan (Ct.), capturing the 11th annual Swarthmore Tip-Off Tournament championship on Sunday afternoon in Tarble Pavilion.
The Eagles (4-0) finally took the lead with 6:41 minutes left in the game and never looked back. Tournament MVP Katy Larson (McGaheysville, Va. / Spotswood) scored nine points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists while teammate Ashley Reed (Fairfax Station, Va. / Robinson) posted a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, also earning all-tournament status.
This is the third time Mary Washington has won the Swat Tip-Off; the Eagles previously won in 2004 and 2005.
Wesleyan (2-1) was led by all-tournament selection Ali Fourney (East Northport, N.Y. / Northport), a senior guard who scored a game-high 17 points and got ahold of six boards. Cardinals’ forward Lucy Sprung (Wilmington, Vt. / Wilmington Middle) chipped in with 13 points.
In the consolation game, hometown Swarthmore (0-2) started hot with a 9-2 run, which was countered by a 15-3 run from Alvernia (3-2). Crusader sophomore Lillian Snyder fueled the run, scoring 11 points off the bench. Alvernia never gave up the lead using second-chance points (22) and the bench scoring (27 points) to gain an edge over Swarthmore. Sophomore forward Alexandra Velazquez (Lancaster, Pa. / Manheim Township) was selected to the All-tournament team following a 32-point, nine-rebound, six-steal effort.
Three Swarthmore players scored in double digits, led by forward Kathryn Stockbower ’11 (Ft. Washington, Pa. / Upper Dublin) who registered a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Following the tournament, Stockbower was named to the All-Tournament team. Classmate Ceylan Bodur (Istanbul, Turkey / Robert College) tallied 17 points and a career-high eight assists while junior captain Pamela Costello (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford) scored 12 points and dished out five helpers in just 22 minutes.
2008 Swarthmore Tip-Off Tournament
Saturday, November 22
Game 1: Wesleyan 64, Swarthmore 47
Game 2: Mary Washington 68, Alvernia 59
Sunday, November 23
Consolation: Alvernia 94, Swarthmore 85
Championship: Mary Washington 51, Wesleyan 47
All-Tournament Team
Katy Larson, Mary Washington, Sr., Guard, (McGaheysville, Va. / Spotswood) MVP
Alexandra Velazquez, Alvernia, So., Forward, (Lancaster, Pa. / Manheim Township)
Ashley Reed, Mary Washington, Jr., Guard, (Fairfax Station, Va. / Robinson)
Kathryn Stockbower, Swarthmore, So., Forward, (Ft. Washington, Pa. / Upper Dubin)
Ali Fourney, Wesleyan, Sr., Guard, (East Northport, N.Y. / Northport)