Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Swarthmore Women’s Basketball Game 1 of 25
Swarthmore Garnet @ Widener Pride (Tuesday, November 15 6PM)
Game Preview: Tuesday’s matchup is the season-opener for both the Swarthmore Garnet and Widener Pride. Swarthmore is coming off a 15-10 season and was picked to finish ninth in the Centennial Conference preseason poll. Widener was 19-7 a year ago and was picked to finish second in the Commonwealth Conference. Tuesday’s matchup is part of the 320 Challenge between the two schools. Though Widener has won the first two annual 320 Challenges, Swarthmore currently leads this year 5-1. The new-look Garnet is without departed 2011 seniors Kathryn Stockbower, Ceylon Bodur, Summer Miller-Walfish and Sarah Brajtbord. It will be more athletic and will look to become an aggressive, running and attacking team in 2011-2012. The returning Garnet players have shot a combined 709 threes in their career, but the women’s three-point arc was moved six inches back to the men’s arc during the offseason, which means that the Garnet will not be able to utilize threes as heavily as they have in previous seasons.
Last Contest vs. Widener: Swarthmore fell to Widener 75-62 in the 2010-11 season opener in Tarble Pavilion thanks to a second-half comeback by the Pride. Over the course of nearly nine minutes in the first half of play, Swarthmore went on a 19-0 run to open up a 23-6 lead thanks to six Widener turnovers and 11 missed field goals over that stretch. Swarthmore extended the lead to 36-17 before Widener went on a run to cut the deficit to nine at the half. The Pride tied the contest fewer than six minutes into the second half and opened the advantage from there. The victory was the second consecutive win by the Pride over Swarthmore after trailing by double digits. Kathryn Stockbower ’11 finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds while Ceylan Bodur ’11 added 15 for the Garnet. Widener had 48 points from its bench including 19 from freshman Joanna Persiano who led all scorers.
The Garnet vs. Widener: In two matches against Widener, Eliza Polli ’13 leads the Garnet with 9.5 points per game thanks to 8-16 shooting including 5-7 from inside the arc. Polli also averaged three rebounds per game. Kayla Moritzky ’14 hit the first of her 23 freshman threes against the Pride while adding an offensive rebound and two assists. Brittany Schmelz ’12 has five assists in two career matches against Widener.
Follow Live: Live stats will be available at http://www.muse.widener.edu/~dacrudel/xlive.htm.
Swarthmore Men’s Basketball Game 1 of 25
Swarthmore Garnet @ Widener Pride (Tuesday, November 15 8PM)
Game Preview: Tuesday’s matchup is the season-opener for both the Swarthmore Garnet and Widener Pride. Swarthmore is coming off a 6-19 season and was picked to finish 10th in the Centennial Conference preseason poll. Widener was 13-13 a year ago and was picked to finish second in the Commonwealth Conference. Tuesday’s matchup is part of the 320 Challenge between the two schools. Though Widener has won the first two annual 320 Challenges, Swarthmore currently leads this year 5-1. Will Gates ’13 and Jay Kober ’14 will lead an improved Garnet attack this season. Gates averages 17.4 points per game in his career while Kober added 11.7 as a freshman last year while shooting nearly 46% from the field. The additions of Matt Turner ’13 and Matt Sharma ’15 to the squad make the 2011-2012 Garnet more athletic than any Swarthmore team in recent memory.
Last Contest vs. Widener: Swarthmore upset Widener in a thrilling 74-72 in the 2010-11 season opener in Tarble Pavilion. The Garnet entered halftime with a 42-30 lead thanks to a Joe Keedy ’14 buzzer-beating three but the Pride went on a run after halftime thanks to a pressure defense which forced 21 Swarthmore turnovers in the match. With the Garnet up two and time running down, the Pride missed a layup at the buzzer as Swarthmore held on for the win. Swarthmore was led by Ryan Carmichael ’11 who scored 23 points. Gates added 14 points while on the defensive end, Jordan Cheney ’15 opened his Swarthmore career with eight blocks. Jack Brennan posted 14 points and nine rebounds to lead the Pride but 10-24 shooting from the free-throw line ultimately doomed Widener.
The Garnet vs. Widener: In two matches against Widener, Gates leads the Garnet averaging 9.5 points per game while Cheney and Marc Rogalski ’12 each added five points in one appearance vs. Widener. Gates averages 5.5 rebounds per game while Cheney recorded eight boards, including three offensive, in last season’s win.
Follow Live: Live stats will be available at http://www.muse.widener.edu/~dacrudel/xlive.htm.