CARLISLE, Pa. - Nina Voith scored a game-high 15 points and Elizabeth Lynch registered the first double-double of her career to help the Haverford College women's basketball team outlast host Dickinson College, 57-54, in the Fords' Centennial Conference opener on Saturday afternoon.
Red Devils freshman Jennifer Smith hit the first of two free throws to tie the score at 53-53 with a minute remaining in the game. It would be the game's sixth and final tie as Smith missed the second shot and Lynch snared the rebound.
Lynch continued her hard work on the glass on Haverford's ensuing possession as the junior forward grabbed an offensive board off her own miss and found Voith open on the baseline. Voith made the most of the clean look when she drained the jumper from the corner to put the Fords (3-0, 1-0 CC) ahead, 55-53.
Dickinson (1-3, 0-2) quickly called a timeout after Voith's bucket and Smith earned two more from the line on a drive down the lane with 28 seconds left on the clock. Smith made the first to trim the Haverford lead to one but when the Red Devils guard came up short on the second it was Lynch who once again loomed large on the boards.
Lynch was immediately fouled and she continued to fill the stat sheet as she made two free throws to extend the Fords' advantage to three at the 26-second mark.
Dickinson came up short when it went for the quick two on its next possession and who else but Lynch that corralled the miss. Lynch got the ball to Pizzuto and the Red Devils sent her to the line with eight seconds remaining. Pizzuto missed the front end of the one-and-one opportunity to give Dickinson a chance to tie but the Haverford defense prevented the Red Devils from getting off a shot before the final horn sounded.
The second half saw seven lead changes overall with neither team moving ahead by more than four points. Lynch finished with seven rebounds over the final 20 minutes including five in the final three minutes and 15 seconds.
Dickinson found its range early in the contest and moved out to a 14-point advantage, 18-4, after the initial seven minutes of play but the Fords responded with a run of their own. Haverford scored 22 of the final 30 points of the half to forge a 26-26 tie at intermission. Five different players hit the scoring column during the Fords' surge before the half led by Voith and Shannon Smith with eight and six points, respectively.
Lynch was a major factor in the contest as she tallied 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with three assists and a game-high three blocks. Rachel Baskin and Shannon Smith chipped in with nine points apiece. Five different players registered blocks for the Fords as they finished with nine overall.
Mary Martin paced the Red Devils with 12 points while Liz Schultz added 10.
Haverford faces another tough road contest on Tuesday when it heads to Muhlenberg College for a conference game against the undefeated Mules (4-0, 2-0) beginning at 6 p.m.