Women’s Basketball Extends Winning Streak
The Gettysburg College Women’s Basketball Team (Photo courtesy of Gettysburg College Athletics)
By John Zak, Staff Writer
The Women’s Basketball Team managed to pull off a 52-44 home win against Johns Hopkins last Wednesday, marking their fifteenth win in a row and giving them a dominant record of 15-1 (16-1 after a subsequent win over Muhlenberg) and a national ranking of #17 from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
The game started off with a fast start by the Blue Jays as they went a 7-2 run in the first minutes of the game. The Bullets managed to recover quickly and erase most of Hopkins’ lead, finding themselves only down 15-13 at the end of the first quarter.
During the second quarter, the contest remained competitive as the duo of senior guards Ashley Gehrin and Kiera Cesareo scored back to back to give the Bullets a 19-15 lead in the opening minutes. Hopkins then responded by knocking two three pointers to give the Jays the lead 21-19. The quarter remained a defensive struggle as the half concluded with both teams deadlocked at 23.
At the start of the second half, Gehrin delivered an impressive performance as she scored 8 consecutive points to give the Bullets a comfortable lead. The Bullets managed to ride the momentum created by Gehrin and levied an effective offensive performance during the third quarter, outscoring the Blue Jays 15-8, giving them a 38-31 lead by the start of the final quarter.
By the fourth quarter the Bullets launched an offensive attack that put them on a 11-2 run and gave them their first double digit lead of the game. Hopkins refused to accept defeat however as they scored 8 straight points to bring the game back into contention within the final 2 minutes.
It was during these closing seconds that the Bullets defense delivered a clutch performance that kept Hopkins scoreless and notched a fifteenth consecutive victory. The team’s maturity was put on display when Hopkins appeared to be gaining momentum for a comeback, as the Bullets defense stepped up and shut them down to protect their lead and secure the win.
During the contest, numerous players made important contributions to the team to get the W. Gehrin scored 19 points, 11 in the second half. Her performance was also complemented by 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Cesareo scored 9 points along with 3 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Tori Yantsos scored 8 points and made 4 assists. Senior forward Emma Hahner snagged 7 rebounds for the team.
The following Saturday, Gettysburg traveled to Allentown, PA, to take on Muhlenberg where they once again took care of business and won 58-49, extending the winning streak to 16. Sophomore Carly Rice lead the team in scoring with 16.
Gettysburg’s victories over Johns Hopkins and Muhlenberg have kept the Bullets undefeated in the Centennial Conference with record of 12-0. Last season the Bullets finished conference play with a record of 18-2, with losses coming to Haverford and Dickinson. Gettysburg has beaten both so far this year but will play them again in February.
During an interview with Gettysburg College Athletics, Cesareo commented about the importance of conference play.
“The Centennial’s a really competitive conference, on any given night any team can win despite a previous record,” she said. “So it really challenges you to come prepared for every single game and not take things for granted. We had three people in the conference tournament last year so I think that says something about the level of competition in this conference and it really pushes you to strive to be number one.”
As the Bullets entered this season with aspirations of making another deep playoff run, they have passed each challenge so far to sit atop the conference and pose as a major contender for the CC title. The Bullets will have a chance to continue their success as they take on Franklin and Marshall on the road this Wednesday at 6 PM. The Diplomats are 6-11 overall and 4-8 in conference.
