Sports

Women's basketball clings to ECAC hopes

In print | February 26, 2009

The women’s basketball team wrapped up the 2008-2009 regular season with a victory over Haverford by a score of 41-37 on Saturday at Haverford’s Gooding Arena. The Garnet finished the season in seventh place in the Conference with a 13-12 overall record, going 10-8 in the Centennial Conference. The Fords, who finished in ninth in the Conference, dropped to 6-16 overall, going 5-13 in the Conference.

Centennial Conference Player of the Year Kathryn Stockbower ’11 broke a conference record by scoring double digits for the 47th game in a row. Ceylan Bodur ’11 also posted a double-double for the team, while Summer Miller-Walfish ’11 had nine blocks.

There were seven lead changes in the first half, but Swarthmore managed to extend their lead to seven (25-18) by halftime. Poor shooting from the field plagued both squads, and neither team established a convincing lead throughout the half. Haverford senior Natalie Richman had a game-high 15 rebounds, and Haverford capitalized on them throughout the game.

“I think there’s always something to work on, but I think what really hurt us on Saturday was our rebounding. Haverford was crashing the boards pretty hard on every play, and they got a lot of second and third opportunities,” Brittany Schmelz ’12 said. “That almost cost us the game.”

A slight change of pace occurred at the beginning of the second half, when Haverford’s senior standout Brittany Lattisaw scored five points. However, Swarthmore managed to regain control and a six-point run put the Garnet up by nine with just under 17 minutes left to play.

The Fords managed to come within five, but both teams went scoreless with 11 minutes left to play. There were 17 missed shots over a span of four minutes, until a shot by Lattisaw put the Fords up by a basket with 6:25 left on the clock.

The contest continued to be a one-possession game in its final minutes, with both teams missing crucial scoring opportunities. Miller-Walfish had a few key blocks at the end of the game, as Swarthmore was able to keep Lattisaw under wraps. A lay-up by Bodur and a Stockbower rebound in the last seconds of the game clinched the Garnet win.

Enthusiastic about the win, players are eager to hear if they will get a spot in the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament. The team has kept up a rigorous practice schedule all week and is trying to remained focused.

“We won’t find out until Sunday, so we’re practicing this whole week trying to get prepared and stay focused, which is definitely a challenge because although we’re fairly confident in our chances of getting a bid, right now there’s no way of knowing for sure,” Schmelz said.

Miller-Walfish shared a similar sentiment, adding that, “it felt good to finish up the season on a win. It’s always nice to beat Haverford and hopefully we can carry that momentum into ECACs if we get a bid.”

Over the course of the season, the team formed into a very cohesive unit. The women made impressive progress, which they attribute to hard work. Additionally, numerous players identified the team’s trip to California over winter break as a focal point of the season. The team managed to step up their level of play, and though they suffered a few key losses, they prevailed at the end of the season by winning the final two games on the schedule.

When asked about what motivated the team, Miller-Walfish replied, “[Melissa] Grigs[by ’09] is a big motivator for us. We really want to do well for her and she works so hard all the time that it makes the rest of us work hard also.”

“Our long-term goal was to make ECACs,” said Grigsby, noting that even if the Garnet doesn’t get an ECAC bid, there is plenty to celebrate. “This is the first time we have been over .500 in five years, so this will be a starting point for next season,” she said of her final season in the garnet and grey.
The Garnet will find out if their season will include a run at the ECAC title on Sunday, March 1. Until then, it’s more practicing hard and crossing fingers.