BY ALYSSA BOWIE

In print | Published December 4, 2008 — Updated December 05, 2008 10:05

The Swarthmore women’s basketball team opened Centennial Conference play this past Tuesday with a 71-69 win over McDaniel. Ranked 6th in the Centennial Conference, McDaniel proved to be a tough opponent for the Garnet, especially in second-half action. Swarthmore’s eventual win came thanks to a three-pointer scored by forward Melissa Grigsby ’09 in the final seconds of the game.
“The play of the game,” according to guard Nicole Rizzo ’12, “was definitely Melissa’s ending shot, because it was so clutch.” With the final seconds of the game on the clock, Swarthmore needed at least two points to win the game, after coming back from a deficit of 6 points racked up by McDaniel in the final minutes. With Grigsby’s three-pointer, the Garnet were able to secure a win, the first of their season and the first for them in the Centennial Conference.

Grigsby contributed 16 points to the Garnet’s offense, one of three players to score in double digits. Along with Grigsby’s point total and an additional six assists, other notable offensive performances were those of Pam Costello ’10 and Kathryn Stockbower ’11. While Costello managed to put up her first double-double of the season, with 14 points and 10 rebounds, a testament to the Garnet’s strong defense throughout the course of the game, Stockbower posted numbers consistent with her previous performances, scoring 16 points and grabbing 24 rebounds. Stockbower’s performance not only lends itself to a personal streak (this is her 14th straight double-double) but is also an achievement within the school’s history and the conference itself. She has now broken Swarthmore’s rebounding record (previously 23, posted by Nancy Rosebaum ’92) and is additionally tied with five other women for the Conference record.

The win over McDaniel marks a newfound endurance within the squad. According to Summer Miller-Walfish, a sophomore center, the Garnet “came out strong, despite the fact that they [McDaniel] made a run in the second half.” Prior to this game, the Garnet dropped three games, two at home during the annual Swat Tip-Off tournament, and one on the road versus Westminster.
The problem, team members said, has often been a lack of consistency in performance throughout the game. The Garnet, in the past, have tended to either come out strong and lose steam, or lack composure until the second half of the game. By besting McDaniel, the team proves it has the skill, composure and consistent effort necessary both to win games and to be a contender within the Centennial Conference.

Swarthmore’s Centennial Conference play continues today, when they host #21 Muhlenberg in Tarble Pavillion at 7:00p.m. “The conference is much closer this season than in the past two years and we are right there with the rest of the teams,” notes Costello. “We now have a lot of momentum going into our Muhlenberg game.”

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