CHESTERTOWN, Md. – The Haverford College women's basketball team won its third game in a row by defeating the Washington College Shorewomen 57-54 on Tuesday night at the Cain Athletic Center.
The Fords ended the final 10 minutes of the first half on a 15-6 run to take a 27-18 lead into halftime. Senior Pallavi Juneja scored seven of her team-high 10 points in the half during that stretch to lead the offense for Haverford. The senior also added three assists while freshman Anna Schrecengost snagged a team-high five rebounds in the first stanza. Senior Jacquelyne Pizzuto added in five points and senior Shannon Smith scored four points. The Shorewomen made just seven of their 25 shot attempts (28.0%) in the first 20 minutes of game action.
Juneja hit a three-pointer to begin the second half which pushed the defending Centennial Conference Champion's lead to its largest of the game at 12 (30-18). Washington College responded by making six of its next nine shots to tie the score at 35 at the 13:29 mark. A free throw would give the Shorewomen their first lead since the score was 5-4 with 13:26 remaining in the first half.
The two teams would exchange leads before the home team jumped in front by four points at 51-47 with 2:47 to go. Juneja answered with her fourth three-pointer of the night to cut the Fords' deficit to one. Two free throws by Schrecengost gave the Fords a 52-51 lead with 1:39 left in the game.
After Washington College made the front end of a one-and-one situation from the charity stripe to tie the score at 52, Pizzuto drove to the rim and was fouled with 41 seconds to go. The point guard sank both free throws, making the score 54-52. After the Shorewomen missed a basket on the next possession, Pizzuto made two more free throws, giving the Fords a four point lead with 10 seconds left. A bucket by the home team led to a foul of senior Elizabeth Lynch with 1.7 seconds remaining in the game. Lynch made one of two free throws and the Fords' conference rival couldn't get a final shot off before the buzzer.
The final 13 minutes of the game featured six lead changes and four ties.
With a team-high 16 points, Juneja set a career high on 6-of-10 shooting (60%), including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. She also had a career-high four rebounds and dished out four assists. Schrecengost scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Pizzuto registered 11 points, four assists and two rebounds. She has made 26 consecutive free throws dating back to last season. The Fords missed just three free throws the entire night, making 20 in the game. Haverford has held its opponents to under 40 percent shooting during its three-game winning streak. The Shorewomen were led by a game-high 18 points from Emily Hubley. Hubley also had team-high seven rebounds and six assists in the loss.
The Fords improve to 3-3 and 3-0 in the Centennial Conference while the Shorewomen dropped to 3-3 and 0-1 in conference play. Haverford has now won nine straight conference games. Head coach Bobbi Morgan's squad will travel to Franklin and Marshall on Thursday with the game scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip. Haverford has won four straight against F&M.