Lady Bullets end five year losing streak against Ursinus

By Claire Healey, Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of gettysburg.edu. Senior Jessica Porter became the second Bullet to earn 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 100 blocks in a career.

Photo courtesy of gettysburg.edu. Senior Jessica Porter became the second Bullet to earn 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 100 blocks in a career.

The Gettysburg College women’s basketball team faced off against the Ursinus Bears over winter break. It was the first time since 2009 that the Lady Bullets were able to defeat the Bears on their own turf. Gettysburg seemed to fall short year after year when visiting the Bears, but with strong depth and some all-star shooters, the streak was broken.

First year coach Nathan Davis was proud of his team, but did not want the team to worry about the past losses. “Obviously, I’m excited for the members of the team that haven’t been able to have success at Ursinus College but we purposely chose not to focus on that fact during our preparation. One of the things we try to stress in our program is that past successes or failures have nothing to do with future outcomes,” he said.

With multiple lead changes throughout the night, it was unclear even going into the last quarter who would come out on top. With the first quarter being very back and forth, Gettysburg came out strong in the second quarter by going on an 8-2 run. The lady Bullets kept this momentum up until the very end of the quarter only allowing Ursinus a couple field goals in the final few minutes to give the Bullets a 27-20 lead heading into the locker room.

The second half saw many more lead changes, and what seemed to be a dominating performance by the Ursinus Bears. Libby Lannon of Ursinus was able to sink a three-pointer, which then sparked a huge scoring run. Gettysburg was able to keep themselves in the game, by only allowing the score to get to 42-40 going into the 4th period.

Gettysburg was not going away easily after having a tough 3rd period, and with the charge led by sophomore Emily Gibbons, the Bullets started the 4th period with a ten-point surge. Ursinus was able to get within five-points of Gettysburg, but that was the closest they would get for the rest of the game.

While the Bullets had a strong offensive 4th quarter, the defense also came up huge for Gettysburg. As Ursinus seemed to be roaring back, the Bullets kept them from having opportunities and the Bears missed five field goals with only 1:28 to play.

Gettysburg certainly had an impressive offensive night and seemed determined to finally beat Ursinus on the road. They posted their second best shooting performance of the year by going 24/50, 48%, in field goals.

“We are hopeful that the success we had a Ursinus is an indication of things to come.  I thought we played with passion, energy, unselfishness and a unified spirit,” Coach Davis said after the game.

The highlight of the night, other than breaking the losing streak at Ursinus, was Gettysburg’s Jessica Porter reaching her 1,000th career points. Porter is the second player in school history to earn 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 100 blocks in a career.

“It was nice to celebrate our win and my 1000th point with my family, and friends, my high school coach and high school teammates in addition to my Gettysburg team! We were also extremely fortunate to share this moment with several of our Gettysburg alumni teammates who came in support,” Porter said.

With her many accomplishments during games, Coach Davis also complimented her leadership and resolve. “As a coach, it is always a relief when one of your best players is also one of your most coachable.  Jess’s positive outlook, determined work ethic and infectious attitude continues to be a driving force within our program” he said.

Gettysburg will continue their search for a Centennial Conference title and will try to continue the momentum from this game. The Bullets play next against Franklin and Marshall College at home on Wednesday January 20th.

 

Author: Web Editor

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