Stockbower Grabs 22, Garnet Fall at E-town
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- Garnet sophomore forward Kathryn Stockbower continued to raise the rebounding bar, grabbing a career-high 22 caroms as the Swarthmore team dropped a 65-59 decision to Elizabethtown in non-conference women's basketball action Tuesday night at Thompson Gymnasium.
Swarthmore slips to 0-3 on the season while the Blue Jays even their record at 3-3.
Stockbower (Fort Washington, Pa. / Upper Dublin) notched her 13th consecutive double-double, posting game-highs with 18 points to go along with her third career 20-plus rebounding effort. Junior forward Pam Costello (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford) added 12 points while senior guard Melissa Grigsby (West Chester, Pa. / West Chester East) added 10 points and six rebounds.
A sloppy game (43 total turnovers) was tied with two free throws from Grigsby at 4:51; the Blue Jays had led since the 12:51 mark in the first half. After four straight E-town points, Grigsby knifed through the Blue Jay zone for a one-handed bank shot at 3:18, cutting the deficit to two (53-51).
E-town guard Stephanie Ellwood (Orwigsburg, Pa. / Blue Mountain) drilled a triple at 2:57 and then hit All-Conference forward Megan Quinn (Millersville, Pa. / Penn Manor) on a backdoor cut for a lay-in and 58-51 lead with two minutes to go.
Elizabethtown hit 7-of-10 from the line down the stretch to keep pesky Swarthmore at bay.
Quinn tallied a team-high 16 points while Ellwood added 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Junior guard Courtney Kofeldt (Coatesville, Pa. / Holy Spirit [NJ]) added 14 points and a career-high seven steals as Elizabethtown improved to 3-2 all-time against the Garnet.
The Garnet picked through the Blue Jay zone early in the first half, getting an open jumper and an old-fashioned three-point play by Grigsby to take a 6-5 lead at 16:30. An offensive put-back by Stockbower on the next possession forced Elizabethtown to take a timeout at 15:24.
The Blue Jays answered with a quick basket from Quinn and then broke out the three-quarter-court pressure, forcing 18 first-half Swarthmore turnovers. Consecutive triples by Elizabethtown fueled an 8-2 run, putting the hometown team out front 15-12 with ten minutes left in the half.
Elizabethtown used the 13 points off turnovers, combined with five triples, to build a 28-22 lead at the intermission. Costello led all scorers with nine points while Blue Jay guard Meg Strohman (Lebanon, Pa. / Lebanon) posted eight points for her squad.
The Blue Jays pushed out to an eight-point lead at 16:50, but the Garnet got within two after a Costello triple and a fast-break lay-in by junior guard Amber Wantman at (Stoneham, Mass. / Stoneham). Wantman’s twisting lay-up made it 40-38 with just over ten minutes to go.
Kofeldt made a steal and converted the fast-break lay-up to put the Blue Jays up by five, 49-44, but Swarthmore sophomore forward Ceylan Bodur (Istanbul, Turkey / Robert College) finished a three-point play to cut the score to 49-47 with 5:10 remaining.
Despite Stockbower’s efforts on the backboards, E-town held a 65-59 rebouding edge.
The Garnet have a week off for the holiday break, returning to action on Tuesday, December 3 with a 7:00 p.m. Centennial Conference-for McDaniel in Westminster, Md.
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