Athletics News

Radiance Walters '06 scored 14 points and Laura Popovics added 13 points as the Garnet used hot-shooting in the second half to bury Ursinus 66-30 for their fourth consecutive win.

Swarthmore led the Bears 23-15 at the intermission and used a quick 11-3 to open a sixteen point cushion. Debbie Farrelly '06 drained a three pointer, Kristen Lee '05 knocked in a jumper, and Walters converted three consecutive shots for the 34-18 lead with 15:13 remaining.

The trademark Garnet defense, allowing only 51.6 ppg. entering Saturday, stiffened in the second half, holding Ursinus to 20% shooting from the field. Swarthmore had given up 82 points on Thursday night to Muhlenberg, and responded on Saturday morning by holding the Bears to their lowest out-put of the season. It is the twelfth consecutive win for the Garnet over Ursinus in a series that dates back to 1921.

Swarthmore punished the Bears for sitting in a zone in the second half, shooting a season-high 57%, including six for fourteen from beyond the arc. Popovics sank her first of four three-pointers to give the Garnet a 39-21 lead 12:34 left in the game.

Popovics led the Garnet offense on a 27-9 run to end the game, even as Swarthmore emptied their bench. Laura Jorgensen '08, out all of first semester with an injury, sank a jumper at 5:09 for the first points of her career and 54-28 Garnet lead.

Walters finished with a team-high 10 rebounds to collect her seventh double-double of the season, tying her for tops in the Centennial Conference. The junior forward is now averaging 10.6 rebounds per game, second in the Conference.

Farrelly added nine points and two assists as the Garnet improve to 9-6 overall and 6-4 in the Conference. Popovics handed out a career-high four assists and Lee led the Garnet with three blocks.

Mary Kate Daley, Molly Guntli, and Alison Walker led Ursinus (7-9, 3-6 CC) with six points apiece.

Swarthmore returns to Tarble Pavilion when they host long-time rival Haverford on Wednesday, January 26th with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

Matt Gustafson '05 recorded a game-high 32 points and Spencer Gray '08 added a career-high 13 but the Bears' hot shooting (58.2%) was too much for the Garnet (2-14, 1-8 CC) to overcome in the 75-61 Centennial Conference loss to Ursinus (8-8, 5-4) at Tarble Pavilion.

Swarthmore jumped out to a fast start as Gustafson and Gray combined for 17 of the Garnet's first 19 points to take a 19-10 lead, its largest of the game, with 10:05 remaining in the half. Ursinus countered with a 14-5 run to tie the game at 24-24 at 5:10.

From there the squads exchanges scores until 3-pointers from Nick Shattuck and Naquan Williams gave the Bears a six-point edge. Chris Casey '07 hit two free throw with no time on the clock to cut the lead to 36-32 at the half.

Once again, the Garnet got off to a slow second half start as the Bears scored 11 straight to take a 15-point, 47-32 lead with 15:57 remaining.

Two three-pointers by Gustafson and one by Dillon McGrew '07 cut the lead to eight but four Will Furey buckets pushed the Bears advantage back to 16 with 5:58 left.

Two Gray buckets sandwiched around four Gustafson free throws got the Garnet to within 10 but that was as close as they could get the rest of the way.

Furey led the Bears with 19 points and Shattuck came off the bench to add 15 points, while Mike McGarvey scored 10 points and handed out nine assists. The Bears made 16 of 23 attempts (69.6%) in the second half and 32 of 55 for the game.

Gustafson, who recorded his fourth 30-point game of the season, was a perfect 11 of 11 from the line and added three 3-pointers. He is now two shy of the school record of 185 triples held by Tim Schofield '99.

Swarthmore hosts Haverford on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.

The start time for Saturday's Centennial Conference game with Ursinus has been changed to 11 am.

Karen Berk '08 recorded a career-high 29 points and 12 rebounds to propel Swarthmore to a 85-82 victory at Muhlenberg College, the first ever by a Garnet team in Memorial Hall.

Swarthmore had been winless in their first 21 trips to the campus, dating back to a 76-60 Mules victory in 1994. The Garnet skillfully handled the intense Muhlenberg press attack, turning the ball over only seven times in the first half while shooting 56% (18-32) from the field and 92% (11-12) from the free throw line.

Jen Stevenson '06 canned three-pointers on consecutive possessions and Radiance Walters '06 finished off a lay-up to stake Swarthmore to a early 8-4 lead just two minutes into the game.

The Garnet fired off a 14-3 run in the next six and a half minutes to push the lead to 22-7 at the 12:53 mark. The Mules quickly cut the into the deficit, bringing it to six following a three-pointer from Lindsay Orosz at 9:35.

Swarthmore continually broke through the Mules full court pressure for easy baskets, railing off a 21-7 run to build a 47-27 lead with 1:20 left in the half. The Mules sandwiched another Berk basket with five quick points making the halftime score 49-32.

The Garnet pushed the lead to twenty-four, the largest of the night, following a Walters three-point play at 17:59 left in the contest.

The incessant Mules pressure began to wear on Swarthmore in the middle of the second stanza. Muhlenberg, tops in Division III in scoring (85.6 ppg.) poured a 35-15 run over the next fourteen minutes to cut the lead to 71-67 Garnet.

Swarthmore called a time-out to re-organize the press break, and back to back lay-ups by Berk pushed the lead back to eight with 2:39 remaining.

Gwen Doyle, 11th in the country in three-pointers per game, got loose for her only trey of the night at 1:28 to cut the Swarthmore lead to 77-70. The Mules began to foul the Garnet, a poor foul-shooting team at 59% in 2004-05. Debra Farrelly '06 sank a pair and Jessica Fuhr '07 nailed one of two to push the lead back to ten with 1:05 on the clock.

And as many around the Centennial Conference have found out, no lead is safe when the Mules are in the building. A Kristen Piscadlo three-point play, an Abra Like three-pointer, and a Tiffany Kirk three pointer coincided with three Garnet free throws to make it 83-79 Swarthmore with 36 seconds remaining.

Stephanie Colunccini got two of her team-high 18 points on a short jumper to cut the Garnet lead to two. Swarthmore got the ball into Ali Wolff '05, forcing the Mules to foul the top free throw shooter in the Conference (80% going into Thursday night).

Wolff sank both free throws for an 85-81 lead with 24.4 showing on the clock. Piscadlo drew a foul on Berk with eight seconds to go, but only made one of the two from the charity stripe to make it 85-82.

Berk corralled the rebound and was immediately fouled. The freshman center came up empty on both tries from the line to open the door for the Mules, but a Doyle three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out, giving Swarthmore (8-6, 5-4 CC) their third straight win.

Swarthmore shot a season-high 52% (30-58) from the field and out-rebounded the Mules 45-37 for the contest. Wolff and Walters added 11 points apiece for the Garnet, while Kristen Lee chipped in 10 points on 5-6 shooting from the field. Stevenson contributed nine points and a team-high six assists while Berk recorded a career-high five steals.

Piscadlo scored 17 points and had six assists, while Kirk added nine points as Muhlenberg fell to 8-6 overall and 4-4 in the Conference.

The Garnet will host Ursinus College on Saturday, January 22 in Tarble Pavilion. Please note the tip-off has been changed to 11:00 a.m. due to inclement weather in the forecast.

Matt Gustafson '05 recorded 24 points to become Swarthmore's (2-13, 1-7 CC) all-time leading scorer in the Garnet's 63-56 Centennial Conference loss at Muhlenberg (8-7, 5-3). Gustafson now has 1,573 points passing Scott Gibbons' '92 mark of 1,563.

Gustafson started the game with a hot hand scoring 16 of the Garnet's first 24 points. It was that 16th point, a jumper with 5:48 remaining in the first half, that gave him the record and it provided Swarthmore with it's largest lead of the game at 24-16.

Gustafson added three more points in the half and the Garnet took a 33-27 lead into the locker room.

Muhlenberg opened the second half with a 10-1 run to grab a 37-34 lead, but 3-pointers by Gustafson and Chris Casey '07 gave the Garnet a 40-37 advantage with 15:41 remaining. Two Gustafson free throws built the lead to five.

The Mules countered as a Chase Licata layup and a Ryan Bonda three tied the game. A Dillon McGrew three gave the Garnet its final lead at 45-42 before the Mules used a 13-2 run to open a 55-47 advantage with 8:31 remaining.

Swarthmore closed to three at 59-56 as Chris Nana-Sinkam '08 scored on consecutive possessions hitting a three and a floater in lane with 1:51 remaining for the Garnet's final points.

A Bonda layup with 22.1 and two Licata free throws with 11.4 on the clock sealed the game for the Mules.

Gustafson added 10 rebounds to record his fourth double-double of the season and Ian McCormick '08 and Casey posted seven points each. Casey also pulled down a career-best seven boards.

Licata led the Mules with 22 points and Bonda added 12.

The Garnet host Ursinus on Saturday in a 1 p.m. contest.

Due to the postponement of Wednesday's men's game at Muhlenberg, Thursday's game will now be played as a double-header with the men. The game, initially scheduled for 7:00 p.m., will now start at 6 p.m. and the men's game will follow at 8:00.

Andrew Frampton '08 was Swarthmore's lone winner in a 119-78 non-conference loss to Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ.

Frampton touched the wall first in the 1,000 freestyle in a time of 10:15.19 to earn the Garnet's lone victory of the evening.

Swarthmore falls to 3-3 on the season. The Garnet host Drew university on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

Results

Whitney Nekoba '08 posted her first double-win to pace the Garnet in a 118-87 non-conference loss to Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ.

Nekoba captured the 200 freestyle in 2:00.31 and then touched the wall first in the 500 freestyle in a time of 5:23.59. Jennie Lewis '08 earned another win as she place first in the 200 butterfly in 2:14.52.

The Garnet host Drew University on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Results

Kristen Lee '05 led Swarthmore with 14 points and Radiance Walters '06 tallied another double-double to lead the Garnet to a 63-51 victory over Gettysburg on Saturday afternoon.

Lee connected on her only bucket of the first half, a long three pointer, to send Swarthmore into halftime with a 31-29 lead. The shooting guard recorded three blocks in the first twenty minutes, aiding the Garnet in holding the Bullets' Jen Bengel, the leading scorer in the Centennial Conference, scoreless.

Swarthmore took a 36-35 lead with 15:46 remaining following a Walters free throw, the start of a 14-3 run by the Garnet. Laura Popovics '08 found Lee on a backdoor lay-up to give Swarthmore the 50-39 lead with 9:39 left in the game.

The Garnet lead reached twelve, the largest of the afternoon, following four consecutive free throws from Debbie Farrelly '06 at 5:28.

Gettysburg (8-6, 5-3 CC) applied full court pressure for the remainder of the contest with Swarthmore easily breaking the pressure and nailing their free throws to seal their second win in a row.

Walters scored 10 points to go along with a game-high 15 rebounds, while fellow forwards Ali Wolff '05 and Karen Berk '08 added 11 points each. Farrelly tallied nine points, four assists and three steals. Lee finished with a career-high four blocks and three assists.

Elizabeth Ross led the Bullets with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Kathryn Reilly contributed 12 points. Bengel, averaging 18.2 points coming into Saturday, was held to four points and nine boards.

The Garnet (7-6, 4-4 CC) will travel to Allentown, Pa. on Thursday, January 15th to take on Muhlenberg in a 7:00 p.m. contest.

Ian McCormick '08 scored a game-high 14 points but the Garnet fell to the Centennial leading Diplomats 93-51 at Franklin & Marshall (9-3, 5-1). Swarthmore falls to 2-11 overall, 1-5 in the conference.

The Diplomats built a 46-19 halftime advantage and never looked back. Jackiem Wright paced F&M as four
Dips reached double figures in scoring. Brandon Chasen and Logan Outerbridge each scored 12 and bryan Tesdhke added 11.

Matt Gustafson '05 scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds. Gustafson now has 1,540 career points and needs 24 more to become the Garnet's all-time leading scorer. His six rebounds give him 500 for his career. He is the first Garnet player to record 1,500 points and 500 rebounds.

Spencer Gray '08, matt Kurman '08 and Dillon McGrew '07 each scored five points for the Garnet.

Swarthmore hosts Gettysburg in CC action on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.