By Jack Herr, Sports Editor
The men’s and women’s basketball teams had a victorious weekend, each defeating Centennial Conference opponent Washington College on Saturday. While the men’s team secured a lopsided win, the women’s team had to claw their way to an overtime victory.
The women’s team took the court at 1 p.m. and came out somewhat sluggish. The Bullets and the Shorewomen went back and forth through the opening 10 minutes, with the latter holding on to a one-point 13–12 lead heading into the second.
After the short break, the Bullets seemed more confident in their game. Guard Kylie Holcomb ’24 drained two three-pointers within two minutes to give the Bullets a two point lead, contributing to her 34.4 percent from beyond the arc on the season. Guards Mackenzie Szlosek ’25 and Alayna Arnolie ’26 joined in on the fun, each hitting a trey before the end of the second quarter. The Bullets went into the locker room up 32–38.
The third quarter featured little scoring. Both defenses held strong and limited their opponents to eight points each within the 10 minutes. For Gettysburg, Szlosek, who leads the team in scoring this season with 12.3 points per game, hit three free throws, and forward Caitlyn Priore ’24 nailed a three pointer. The home team maintained its four-point lead heading into the fourth.
Joy Sanders and Andrea Prestianne, who led the scoring for the Shorewomen with 23 and 10 points, respectively, jump started their team’s comeback after the break. With three and a half minutes to go, the score was tied at 49 apiece thanks to a three pointer by Arnolie. Priore then gave her team a one-point edge with a free throw, and forward Emily Violante ’25 quadrupled that lead with a three pointer of her own.
The margin was still thin and proved thin enough for the Shorewomen to overcome. Baskets from Sanders and Kaitlyn Boggs before time expired knotted the score at 53-53, sending the game into overtime. The Gettysburg faithful geared up for what would be an exciting final five minutes.
The Bullets as a team struggled from the charity stripe throughout the game, going a meager 8-20 (40%). Luckily, their scoring from the field was enough to prevail. Overtime started with a layup from forward Shinya Lee ’25, after which the Bullets scored three more unanswered points. Sanders continued to battle back, scoring her team’s only points in the period, but it was not enough, giving the Bullets a 62-57 victory. They now sit at a comfortable 10-5 overall, with a 7-3 conference record. Their next test comes against Ursinus on the road on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
In comparison to the women’s game, the men’s team coasted their way to a 89-63 victory over the Washington Shoremen.
If a spectator only stayed for the beginning of the first half, though, they would not have expected such a dominant win on behalf of the Bullets. The team trailed for the first eight minutes, finally capturing a single-point lead with a layup from guard Carl Schaller ’25, the team’s leading scorer this season who is averaging 12.8 points per game.
After gaining this lead, the Bullets completely stole the game’s momentum, racking up basket after basket and quickly increasing their lead to double digits. The high-scoring trio of Schaller, guard Jordan Stafford ’25, and forward Elijah Williams ’23 notched field goals from all corners of the hardwood. Kedrick Frink, the Shoreman’s highest scorer of the game, tallied four of his fifteen points in the waning minutes of the first half, enough to bring the Bullets lead down to 15. However, Schaller responded with a three ball, giving the Bullets a 42-24 lead at halftime.
The Bullets did not let up after halftime. Their lead got up to 35 points with 11 minutes left in the second after a three-point play by forward Antonello Baggi ’24, who was one of five Bullets to notch double figures. The Bullets fed off the crowd’s ensuing energy; specifically Nate Williams, who scored four points in the next two minutes to bring the Bullets’ lead to a game-high of 37
With such a lead, the Bullets bench got in on the action. Guard Akim Joseph ’25 drained one from three, forward Max Pernetti ’25 slammed one home on a fastbreak, and guard Josh Russell ’23 scored his first points of the season after a free throw and a trey, which ended up being the final field goal of the game.
The Bullets displayed their ability to take over a game in their blowout victory against Washington College. They are now 10-7 overall with a 7-3 conference record. They head to no. 13 Johns Hopkins on Thursday, Jan. 26 to continue their great season.
