Bullets Basketball Win Decisive Victories Over McDaniel Green Terror
Ava O’Neil ’28 pictured during the game against McDaniel. (Photo by David Sinclair/Gettysburg Athletics)
By Noah Simkiss, Staff Writer
On Jan. 29, men’s and women’s Gettysburg basketball teams were victorious against McDaniel’s Green Terror. By establishing and defending leads in the first halves, both teams were able to defeat their opponents by more than ten points, with the women’s game ending with a final score of 61-46 and the men’s game ending with a final score of 69-53.
The women’s team struggled early in the game, finding themselves down 14-6 in the first quarter thanks to a series of successful shots by McDaniel, which included two three-pointers. A layup by AB Holsinger ’26, two free throws by Adeline Standish ’28 and five points from Ava O’Neil ’28 closed the gap to just one point, with the Bullets trailing 15-16.
In the second quarter, a three-pointer by O’Neil and a layup by Shinya Lee ’25 gave the Bullets the lead, which they maintained for the rest of the game. By the end of the first half, Gettysburg was on top 30-28, with O’Neil, Holsinger, Alayna Arnolie ’26, and Jameson Mott ’27 contributing to the points.
By the end of the third quarter, the Bullets had extended their lead to ten points, which included a three-pointer by Tatum Murray ’27 and two successful free throws by Kimberly Hopkins ’26. McDaniel continued to fall behind in the final quarter, in which Arnolie scored nine points for the Bullets. A layup by Holsinger was the final point of the game, bringing Gettysburg to a 61-46 victory.
The game extended Gettysburg women’s basketball’s perfect 8-0 record of Centennial Conference matchups and featured personal achievements by several Bullets athletes. Arnolie, who was named the Centennial Conference Player of the Year in the 2023-24 season, led the team with 17 points and two steals in the game. O’Neil reached a career-high ten points, and Holsinger scored ten points and had three assists and two steals.
In the Centennial Conference, the Gettysburg women’s basketball team is ranked first, with an overall record of 18-1.
Following the women’s team’s victory, the Gettysburg men’s basketball team took the court to face McDaniel’s men’s team, ultimately defeating them by a final score of 69-53.
The Bullets played impressively in the first half, jumping to an early lead thanks to three consecutive three-pointers, two by Nate Williams ’26 and one by Carl Schaller ’25. In addition to the Bullets offense which scored 44 points in the first half, the team also limited McDaniel’s points to just nineteen in the first half and held them completely scoreless in the last five minutes of the period.
Gettysburg held their large lead well into the second half, with points by Williams, Jordan Stafford ’25, Aidan Mess ’26, Lorenzo Carrara ’28 and Rassoul Abakar ’25 keeping the Bullet’s advantage to twenty points or more. The lead was not threatened until a three-pointer by the Green Terror with 12:19 left on the clock brought Gettysburg’s advantage down to nineteen points. A seven-point run by McDaniel closed the gap even further, although the team never came closer than thirteen points away from Gettysburg’s lead.
Although the Green Terror scored the last few points of the game, the Bullets took away a decisive victory, winning by sixteen points. Overall, the Bullets shot 49% throughout the game. Williams, who scored seventeen points, was the leader of the game alongside Stafford who scored thirteen with two assists and Schaller who scored twelve. The Gettysburg men’s basketball team currently stands second in the Centennial Conference, with a conference record of 5-1 and an overall record of 14-4.
The men’s team faced Washington College on Saturday, winning 83-69, while the women’s team next plays at John Hopkins on Feb. 5 at 6 p.m.
Lorenzo Carrara ’28 pictured during the game. (Photo by David Sinclair/Gettysburg Athletics)
