By Joe Curry, Staff Writer
The Gettysburg men’s and women’s basketball teams both secured victories over Swarthmore at home this past Saturday.
The women put on a dominating performance and won by a score of 80-25. This 55-point margin was the largest in series history for the Bullets. Gettysburg was also able to hold the Garnet to 0-13 from three, and an overall 15.1 field goal percentage.
Alayna Arnolie ʼ26 led the Bullets in scoring, as she made five three-pointers and tied her season-high record with 21 points. Her performance awarded her Centennial Conference Player of the Week for women’s basketball. Behind her in scoring was Mackenzie Szlosek ʼ25, who tallied 19 points.
AB Holsinger ’25 competing in the game against Swarthmore. (Photo Sofia Gutierrez/The Gettysburgian)
Gettysburg held the Garnet to just seven points in the first quarter and 13 in the first half against their own 21 in the first quarter and 38 in the first half. By the end of the third quarter, the Bullets led 59-17.
On the men’s side, the game was much closer, and the Bullets were able to win 74-67. Jordan Stafford ʼ25 led the team in points with a career-high 25, complimented by a season-high 10 rebounds. Carl Schaller ʼ25 was close behind him with 22 points, which matched his season best.
The first half of the game saw a scoreless first two minutes. Stafford began with a field goal and a free throw to bring the Bullets to a 3-0 lead to open up. The next three minutes included several lead changes until Schaller scored five straight points to give the Bullets a four-point lead over the Garnet. Swarthmore was able to regain some ground though, and the half with a 28-27 Gettysburg lead.
The Garnet began the second half strong and took a 37-32 lead with about sixteen minutes remaining in the game by scoring 10 points to which Gettysburg only scored four. However, thanks to another five straight points from Schaller, the Bullets were able to close the gap to two points with 13 minutes to play.
Carl Schaller ’25 competing against Swarthmore. (Photo Sofia Gutierrez/The Gettysburgian)
With about 10 minutes remaining, Gettysburg tied the game. The Bullets then took the lead with a three-ball from Nate Williams ʼ26 to bring the score to 55-53 with six minutes to go. They held this lead until the end of the game by making 10 out of 12 free throws.
The successful day by both men’s and women’s basketball teams extended their winning records, both overall and within the conference.
The women’s team notched their ninth straight win this season with the victory. Their win also gave them a spot in the top 25 for Division III women’s basketball on D3hoops.com, coming in at 25th. This sets them up for a top-25 matchup at home on Saturday, Jan. 31 against Johns Hopkins (9). The men will also face a ranked Johns Hopkins (18) on Saturday at home.
