Women’s basketball team falls to Swarthmore
First year, Annie Reilly, scored 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks against Swarthmore last Saturday. (Photo Courtesy of GCC&M)
By Claire Healey, Staff Writer
The women’s basketball team has been back in Gettysburg since December 30 and they have been hard at work ever since. On Jan. 5, the team took first place in the Gettysburg Tournament competing against Hood College, Neumann University and Wilkes University.
First facing Hood College, the lady Bullets won in a 56-41 final. Meanwhile, Neumann University rose victorious 58-45 over Wilkes University. This win led Neumann to face Gettysburg and Gettysburg battled to success with a 64-56 win.
Senior captain Jenna Swope described her thoughts on the tournament: “Neumann was definitely no easy contest. I’m really proud of how we were able to fight back and get a great team victory.” Swope’s three-pointer in the second half of the championship game gave Gettysburg its first lead against Neumann. Senior captain, Samantha Pagel, also was a great attribute to this victory.
Pagel had a break out twenty-eight-point game against Neumann University. With an additional nine rebounds, four assists and two steals she received the Sally Musselman Outstanding Player award for the tournament. Pagel believes that the winter break training benefited the team both on and off the court: “During these past couple weeks, our team definitely bonded more so than we previously were, and I think this has been particularly evident on the court, which has been great!”
This victory marks the fifth time Gettysburg won the tournament since 2008 and marked the team’s tenth consecutive win of the season, one of the best streaks in the team’s history. Unfortunately, the Bullets could not keep their winning streak forever. On January 10, Muhlenburg College gave the Bullets their first loss, in a close 46-47 battle. Gettysburg held the Mules off 46-45 until the final 43 seconds, when a lay-in pushed Muhlenburg past the Bullets.
Although the loss was unfortunate, the closeness of the game proved the evenly matched talent of the teams and gives hope for victory later on in the season. The order of games was unfortunate since the next battle for the Bullets to face was against the Haverford Fords. The Fords are ranked at the top of the conference. Always being a tough match- up season to season, the Bullets were unable to come out victorious losing 33-59.
The Bullets struggled in the last two games of winter break, travelling to Ursinus College and Swarthmore College and facing defeat in both locations. Both games were close, however. Gettysburg lost by three points in each, with the final being 48-51 against Ursinus and 66-69 against Swarthmore.
Although the women’s basketball team has faced a difficult streak of games, there is much hope for the rest of the season. With all of the success already proven from the team, there is faith that the lady Bullets will be sure to rebound and bring home some wins soon. Ranked in the top half of the Centennial Conference, we can be sure to see a lot more from them. The Bullets will host Washington College this Saturday, January 24, at 1:00 pm.
