Grigs Great, Garnet Grab Win
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Garnet senior captain Melissa Grigsby made her final game in Tarble Pavilion a memorable one, scoring a career-high 22 points to lead Swarthmore to a 58-53 Centennial victory over visiting Washington College Wednesday night in Tarble Pavilon.
Swarthmore sophomore Kathryn Stockbower (Ft. Washington, Pa. / Upper Dublin) added her 41st career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds as the Garnet improved to 12-12 overall and 9-8 in the Centennial. Stockbower tied the Centennial record for most consecutive games scoring in double figures, joining Julie Anderson (Johns Hopkins – 1997) with 46 in a row.
Grigsby (West Chester, Pa. / West Chester East) was honored, along with senior team manager Toks Adegboro, in a pre-game ceremony on Senior Night and responded with a team-high nine first-half points. She would finish the game 9-of-15 from the field while playing all 40 minutes. Her 22 points topped her previous career-high of 17, which she has done twice (most recently against Johns Hopkins this season).
The Garnet surged to a 15-4 lead early on as healthy Ceylan Bodur ’11 (Istanbul, Turkey, Roberts College) knifed her way thru the defense for eight points; Grigsby canned a three-pointer at 14:19 gave them the margin. Consecutive jumpers by Swarthmore freshman Genny Pezzola (Oakland, Calif. / St. Mary’s College HS), including a leaner in the paint, kept the Garnet lead at 11, 23-12, midway through the half.
Washington would cut into the Swarthmore advantage with a 16-8 run, using timely shooting and a strong transition game to get within 31-28 at the intermission. Meghan Lepley led the Shorewomen (10-14, 5-12 CC) with eight points at half.
The Shorewomen got to within one point on two occasions early in the second half, the last coming after a lay-up by Brianne Slizofski at 16:21.
A quick 8-2 Garnet run, capped by another Pezzola bucket, put Swarthmore back in front by seven points. Grigsby tallied the next seven Swarthmore points, drilling jump shots from three different spots. The last was a three-pointer that put Swarthmore up 50-42 with 10:10 left.
Shorewomen guard Jessica Jamrogowicz continued to facilitate the visitor offense, sinking a rainbow three-pointer at 8:16 to get the visitors within five, 52-47.
Grigsby swished two free throws at 6:38 and the Garnet crept back ahead, 54-47. After a Swarthmore time-out, Bodur hit a fade-away jumper in the lane and then dropped in another finger roll to push the home team in front by 11, 58-47, with five minutes to play.
The Garnet limited the Shoremen to just one more basket, holding on for their 12th of the season and completing the season sweep of Washington. Ironically, the two teams posted the exact same score in Chestertown, Md. one month earlier.
Swarthmore was officially eliminated from the Centennial playoff race when Johns Hopkins topped Bryn Mawr Wednesday evening.
Bodur finished in double figures with 12 points and a game-high four steals.
Lepley topped Washington with 14 points (matching her career-high) while Jamrogowicz added 12 points and a game-high seven assists. Slizofski also reached double digits with 10 points.
Swarthmore plays its final regular season game in enemy territory, heading to Haverford College this Saturday, February 21 for a 2:00 p.m. Centennial tilt.
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