By Jack Herr, Sports Editor
The Gettysburg College women’s team picked up a win against Centennial Conference opponent Swarthmore on Saturday, Jan. 15, but the men’s team suffered defeat against the Garnet’s nationally 16th ranked squad.
The women’s team took the hardwood at 1 p.m., the afternoon sunlight providing a harsh glare on the court inside Bream Gymnasium on the campus of Gettysburg College. The Bullets entered the game with a 9-2 overall record, a 7-0 conference record, and a two game win streak. The team has had a strong start to their season and currently sit atop the Centennial Conference.
Both teams started hot, scoring 12 each in the first quarter. Senior guard Christina Richson drained two three-pointers for the Bullets, while the Garnet’s forward Dana Bandurick netted five points of her own. Richson is shooting over 38% from beyond the arc this season and averaging 9.3 points on 27 minutes.
Bandurick added four more points along with a free-throw from her teammate to give Swarthmore a five-point lead early on in the second. Swarthmore’s run would not last for long, though, as the Bullets went on a 13-5 scoring spree, featuring contributions from guard Carly Rice ’22, forward Caitlyn Priore ’24, and Richson, who hit her third trey of the game. The Bullets went into the locker room up 27-24.
Two new Bullets shined in the third quarter. Guard Mackenzie Szlosek ’25, the leading scorer for the Bullets on the season (10.5 ppg) and forward Delaney Donohoe ’25 dominated the scoring, putting up eight and six respectively. The Bullets’ defense stood out as well, holding Swarthmore to only nine points.
Up 42-33 going into the fourth, the Bullets were in a great position to secure the victory, and they followed through. Swarthmore made an attempt to claw back in the final minutes, but the Bullets held on thanks to free-throws from Szlosek and Rice. The women’s team improved to 9-2, 8-0 in the Conference.
The men’s game began thirty minutes later, and the Bullets faced a formidable challenge, Swarthmore being the 16th best Division III men’s team in the country. Swarthmore entered the game with a 13-1 overall record and 7-0 conference record compared to Gettysburg’s 8-4 overall record and 4-2 conference record.
The Garnet dominated the opening minutes of the first half, going on a 16-6 run highlighted by the team’s leading scorer George Corzine, who dropped 19 points in total. The Bullets came back within two points, though, propelled by first-year guard Colin Farrell’s back-to-back threes from the top of the key. Each team went on scoring runs during the remainder of the half, but Gettysburg couldn’t score enough to gain a lead, trailing 39-34 at half.
If the Bullets seemed like they had a chance at victory going into halftime, the second half dispelled any such belief. Corzine added nine more points at the start of the half, and while the Bullets came within eight points twice, the Garnet accumulated a 24-point lead with under seven minutes on the clock. Simply put, the Bullets could not get it done at the charity stripe, shooting an abysmal 3-14 (21%) from the line in the second half. Swarthmore held on to win 78-63.
Guard Carl Schaller ’25 had a fantastic game for the Bullets in spite of the loss, scoring 19 points along with four assists. Schaller leads his team in scoring on the season, averaging 11.8 ppg. Gettysburg dropped to 8-5 overall and 4-3 in the conference.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will get back to action next Wednesday evening, Jan. 19 vs. Dickinson.
