Upset Bid Comes Up Short as Garnet Women Fall at Unbeaten Gettysburg 51-48
GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Down 10 points late in the second half, the Swarthmore College women's basketball team (4-7, 1-5) stormed all the way back and had a chance to tie homestanding Gettysburg on its final possession, but three-point attempts from freshman Eliza Polli and junior Ceylan Bodur rimmed out as time expired, and the undefeated Bullets (11-0, 6-0) hung on to defeat the Garnet 51-48 on Wednesday evening.
Miller-Walfish had five points and five blocks for the Garnet.
Junior Kathryn Stockbower led the Garnet with 15 points and 14 rebounds, earning the 51st career double-double of her career. Bodur scored 11 points and junior Summer Miller-Walfish added six rebounds, five points and five blocks.
The Garnet - fresh of a tournament championship at Catholic - trailed the Bullets 45-35 with 11:55 left in the second half and appeared to be heading towards defeat at the hands of the unbeaten Gettysburg . But Swarthmore rallied back - its second big second-half rally in as many games - outscroing the Bullets 11-0 over a seven-minute stretch to take the lead. A three-pointer from sophomore Genny Pezzola gave the Garnet a 46-45 with 4:25 left in the game.
But from that point on, the Garnet would only score two more points for the remainder of the game. A lay-up from Stockbower with 2:44 cut the Bullet lead to 49-48, but Gettysburg's Allie Drechsler responded on the next possession to extend the lead to 51-48 with 1:28 remaining.
The score would remain 51-48 until the final seconds, with Swat getting one last chance to send the game into overtime, but three-point shots from Polli and Bodur were off target, helping the Bullets remain unbeaten.
The Garnet were hampered by 28 turnovers on 14 Gettysburg steals. The Bullets out-scored the Garnet 20-9 in points-off-turnovers and 14-7 in bench points.
Swarthmore's defense continued its strong showing in the second semester, limiting the Bullets to just 31 percent shooting and 1-of-10 three-point shooting for the game.
The Garnet return to action on Saturday, when it returns home to face Franklin & Marshall. Action is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.