Garnet Chill Owls on Snowy Night
BRYN MAWR, Pa. -- The Swarthmore women's basketball team picked up a 55-44 Centennial win over Bryn Mawr Tuesday night at Schwartz Gymnasium.
Swarthmore improved to 11-9 overall and 8-5 in the Conference, moving into fourth place with five games let in the regular season. As the cold snow continued to fall in the Delaware Valley, the Garnet sit half-game, above and below, six teams in the Centennial game of musical chairs for the final four spots in the 2008-09 championships (leader Muhlenberg has clinched a spot at 13-0).
Sophomore Kathryn Stockbower (Ft. Washington, Pa. / Upper Dublin) was one of four Garnet women in double figures, registering a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds while Garnet senior Melissa Grigsby (West Chester, Pa. / West Chester East) added 14 points and dished out four helpers. Wing Ceylan Bodur '11 (Istabul, Turkey / Roberts College) picked up 12 points and freshman guard Nicole Rizzo (North Caldwell, N.J. / Gill St. Bernard's) scored a career-high 11 points.
With her only block of the night, center Summer Miller-Walfish '11 (San Jose, N.M. / West Las Vegas) tied the her own school single-season record of 45 blocks.
Bryn Mawr (2-17 overall, 0-13 CC) were led by freshman Emilie Naccarrato with a season-high 19 points while Caroline Heffernan added eight points and eight rebounds.
After a sluggish start, Bryn Mawr made the first basket at 17:58 on a lay-up by Heffernan. At 15:12, the Garnet finally got on the board, and the Swarthmore fans could sit down.
The next couple minutes Swarthmore take the lead with 13:33 showing on the clock and the score flipped to 6-5. A 10-2 run blossomed out of the Garnet women, with Grigsby's jumper the final touch on a 16-7 lead.
As quickly as the Swarthmore lead came, it went. The Owls showed their feathers, flying a 13-0 run to a six-point lead before halftime. Naccarrato drilled a three-pointer at 2:38 and the hometown crowd cheered a 22-17 Bryn Mawr lead at intermission.
Grigsby led Swarthmore with six points while Stockbower grabbed seven rebounds.
Swarthmore came out of the locker room with its customary offensive surge, tying the game up at 25-all with the clock showing 16:47. They took the lead, 27-25, at 15:30 following a pair of free throws from Stockbower (5-for-8 on the night).
The Garnet enjoyed an increase in the shooting percentage in the second half, hitting on 46.4% of their field goals (Swarthmore was just six-of 25 in the first half). Stockbower scored for 11 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half and Grigsby made three deep jumpers as Swarthmore extended its lead to 38-30.
The second ten minutes belonged to Rizzo, who dumped in eight points as the Swarthmore lead grew to as large as 17 near the final buzzer.
A concerted Garnet defensive effort limited the Bryn Mawr options (leading scorer Jessica Allen held to just three points) and led to the necessary scoring margin (14 points off turnovers).
Swarthmore continue their current three-game road trip on Saturday, February 7 when they travel to Dickinson College. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
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