No. 24 Bullets Down Garnet in OT Heartbreaker, 60-57
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Ahead by as many as 11 points in the second half, the Swarthmore College women's basketball team (7-9, 4-7 CC) saw the lead dwindle late in the second half as No. 24 Gettysburg (14-2, 9-2 CC) rallied to defeat the Garnet in overtime 60-57 on Saturday afternoon from Tarble Pavilion.
Sophomore Genny Pezzola finished with 10 points for the Garnet.
Juniors Kathryn Stockbower - 10 points and 17 rebounds - and Ceylan Bodur - 17 points and 10 rebounds - both recorded double-doubles to lead the Garnet, who have now played in four consecutive games decided by fewer than four points, sporting a 2-2 in those contests.
The Garnet - which led the game for 38 of 40 minutes in regulation - had chance to tie the game on its final possession of overtime, but a 3-pointer from sophomore Genny Pezzola with seconds left was blocked, giving the Bullets the comeback win. Pezzola ended the game with 10 points.
Swarthmore had trouble keeping a handle on the ball all afternoon - committing a season high 31 turnovers.
The Garnet looked as if it was putting the game out of reach late in the second half; a four-point play from Pezzola gave the Garnet a 10-point lead at 46-36 with 6:16 left in the game. But from that point on, the Garnet would score only one more field goal in regulation while being outscored 16-6 to end the game.
Gettysburg had a chance to take the lead with :13 seconds left to play, but Gettysburg's Caitlin Moser could only hit 1-of-2 free-throws, tying the game 52-52. With the seconds ticking down, Stockbower missed a contested jumper in the lane, sending the game into overtime.
Three different Bullets scored in double-figures, led by 17 points from Courtney Fields and 16 from Sarah Kinsley off the bench.
The Garnet held a 50-42 rebounding edge and out-shot the Bullets 34 percent/30 percent, but Gettysburg held commanding advantages in turnovers (31-14), points-in-the-paint (30-16) and bench points (29-21).
Junior Summer Miller-Walfish scored four points and added a game-high five blocks.
Senior captain Pam Costello moved into seventh place on the College's all-time career assists list (192) with her three assists.
Swarthmore is now 0-12 all-time versus nationally-ranked opponents.
The Garnet have little time to sulk, as No. 12 Muhlenberg comes to Tarble Pavilion on Monday. Action is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m.