Sports

Basketball subdues Owls in overtime win

In print | February 14, 2008

Last Tuesday, the Swarthmore Women’s Basketball team took down Tri-College rival Bryn Mawr in an exciting overtime victory at home in Tarble Pavilion. The 68-62 win brings the team to a 6-13 overall record, and 3-10 in the Centennial Conference.

The Garnet started out strong, jumping out in front quickly with an 8-2 lead. Kathryn Stockbower ‘11 once again took charge, tallying six of Swarthmore’s first eight points.

The Garnet maintained the lead for the majority of the first half, extending their lead to nine points with about ten minutes to go. With 5:36 left on the clock, a three-pointer from the Owls made it a one point game, but Swarthmore solidified their lead to finish the half ahead of Bryn Mawr, 34-30.

At the start of the second half, Stockbower again got Swarthmore started with a few points, extending the Garnet lead to 38-30. The Owls, however, responded fast with 12 unanswered points. With 11 minutes remaining, Bryn Mawr had taken a 42-38 lead.

The Swarthmore women, however, maintained their composure and were able to slow down the Owls’ momentum, forcing the game back into their control as the action went back and forth. With about three minutes to go, the Garnet reclaimed the lead with two foul shots from captain Karen Berk ’08, notching the score to 54-52.

The Owls struck back, as junior Jessica Allen tied it up, sinking a jump shot. With 38 seconds left and possession of the ball, Bryn Mawr called a time out in hopes of setting up the winning basket, but they missed the shot, sending the game into overtime.

Mirroring their strong starts to both halves, Swarthmore came into overtime with purpose. “I think we were all very relieved after the end of regulation after Bryn Mawr had a chance to score and win in regulation and didn’t,” captain Pam Costello ’10 said.

“This helped us going into overtime, and we really came out strong. At that point, we knew we were the better team, and that we had to step up to come out with the victory,” Costello said. Swarthmore indeed stepped up to the challenge, scoring 16 points in the overtime period and defeating Bryn Mawr, 68-62.

The game brought yet another impressive performance from Stockbower, as she captured her 16th double-double with 22 points and 18 rebounds.

Berk also scored in the double digits, notching 17 points and going 5-for-6 from the foul line, and Costello tallied 10 points of her own, while also bringing down six rebounds.

The Swarthmore women hoped to carry momentum from this exciting victory into their Saturday home match-up against Dickinson College. The Red Devils (14-6, 12-2 CC) were ranked first in the conference coming into the game. With this in mind, the Garnet approached the competition knowing that it would be a tough battle, but staying positive nonetheless.

Dickinson started strong, establishing an initial lead with an immediate 11-3 run, but Swarthmore fought back. Despite the strength of the Red Devils’ full court pressure, the Garnet pounded out an unanswered nine point run of their own, taking their first lead with 7:40 left in the half.

Dickinson reclaimed the lead, but Swarthmore kept the fight close, and the halftime buzzer rang to reveal only a six-point margin between the teams.

Swarthmore got a speedy jump on the Devils at the beginning of the second half, tying the score at 36, but Dickinson responded with an 18-4 run, and continued to extend their lead. In spite of the Garnet’s continued efforts, the Devils maintained the lead to the final buzzer, claiming the victory, 70-55.

Despite the loss, the game was a well-played, hard fight for the Garnet according to Stockbower, who posted her Centennial-leading 17th double-double during the game. “We had a pretty competitive game with Dickinson even though the score did not really reflect that,” Stockbower said.

“The game showed us that, if we believe in ourselves, we can compete with anyone. Hopefully we will take this attitude with us for our remaining games and come out with a few wins,” Stockbower added.

Coach Renee DeVarney agreed that it was a good game for the Garnet. “Dickinson was a tough, gritty game that — except for the outcome — I really enjoyed,” she said.

“We’ve had trouble playing well in both halves of games. We played really well in both halves. Dickinson is known for their suffocating press defense and finally by the end of the game that’s what wore us out,” De Varney said.

But Swarthmore made Dickinson work for the victory. “They usually don’t need to press for the whole game. They needed to against us or they wouldn’t have won it, and Dickinson was dead tired after the game,” DeVarney said.

Stockbower registered a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. This puts her at the top of the Conference in double-doubles. Berk also tallied in the double digits with 11 points.

Swarthmore will see their next Centennial Conference action on Saturday, Feb. 16, as they travel to face the Gettysburg College Bullets.