Women's Basketball Burns the Red Devils, 59-58
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Senior Genny Pezzola sunk a pair of clutch free throws in the final seconds of play, sealing a one-point victory for the Swarthmore women's basketball team (3-1, 1-0 CC) over the Dickinson Red Devils (0-4, 0-1 CC) in its Centennial Conference opener on Tuesday night in Tarble Pavilion.
Garnet sophomore Katie Lytle's 20 points weathered a gritty Red Devils team and guided the Garnet to a significant 1-0 start in Centennial Conference play.
Fellow sophomore Kayla Moritzky added 11 points, and freshman Elle Larsen put forth a powerful effort with 16 points and team-high eight rebounds.
Freshman Sarah Phillips was the high-scorer for the Red Devils, scoring 12, while Belma Mekic netted 10 points.
The Red Devils jumped out to an early six point lead, however the Garnet regained the lead at the mid-point and didn't look back for the remainder of the period.
The Garnet excelled on the defensive end, recording nine of its 15 steals on the day in the first half, which largely attributed to Swarthmore's four point lead going into the half.
Throughout the day the Garnet struggled to find consistency from three-point range shooting a mere three-for-19 (16%). While the Red Devils, on the other hand, found much more success shooting five-for-10 (50%) from outside the arc.
Swarthmore's starting five continued to produce balanced offense with at least three players scoring double-digit points for the third time in four games. Lytle led the way scoring 20 points in addition to hauling in seven rebounds.
Swarthmore lost the lead midway through the second half, but regained it with 8:58 to play off a Lytle jumper. The Red Devils kept things close while down, never letting the Garnet stray farther than four points away.
With 2:41 to play the Garnet found itself in yet another tight game, up only three points, 57-54, off of a Larsen layup.
In the final minute, the Red Devils' persistence paid off when with just eight seconds on the clock, junior Bridget Borgese made a layout to put her Red Devils up by one.
Pezzola spoiled the Devils hopes of a come-from-behind upset, sinking two free-throws in the final seconds to seal the Garnet win.
Swarthmore takes a week off for the holidays before it returns to the court on Tuesday, November 29 at McDaniel. Play is slated to begin at 7:00 PM.
