HAVERFORD, Pa. – A jumper by senior Jacquelyne Pizzuto with two seconds to go gave the Haverford College women's basketball team a 53-52 win over the Immaculata Mighty Macs on Saturday afternoon at the Gooding '84 Arena.
After the two teams exchanged leads to begin the game, the Fords went on a 7-0 run to take a 14-8 advantage at the 8:06 mark of the first half. After a basket by the Mighty Macs made the score 14-10, the Fords scored 10 of the next 14 points to stretch their lead to its largest of the afternoon (24-14) with 3:05 left in the first half. Immaculata ended the first stanza on a 10-0 run to make the score even at 24 at the break, highlighted by two straight three-pointers by Adriana Sciascia.
Immaculata and Haverford shot well from beyond the arc in the first half as both teams combined for eight three-pointers. The Fords showed their depth in the post as they had six offensive rebounds and five blocks in the first 20 minutes of game action. Haverford also showed a balanced passing attack as it had nine assists on its 10 first half baskets. Senior Elizabeth Lynch paced the home team with six points and four rebounds in the first stanza.
The second half was a back-and-forth tilt that featured 11 lead changes and five ties. Neither team had a lead of more than three points until a three-pointer by Sciascia and free throw by Brittany Merkle gave the Mighty Macs a 50-45 advantage with 5:19 to go. The Fords responded with six straight points, led by freshman Sierra Berkel's four points in the paint to jump in front 51-50 with 1:11 left.
Two free throws by Merkle allowed Immaculata to go ahead 52-51 and thus led to a Haverford timeout. After Berkel's sixth offensive rebound of the game kept the possession with the Fords, head coach Bobbi Morgan called timeout with nine seconds to go to draw up a final play.
Pizzuto dribbled from the left corner to the top of the key before driving into the paint and scoring on a floating jumper that gave the Fords a 53-52 lead with two seconds to go in the game. Immaculata called timeout to set up its final play, but its three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
Berkel recorded her second straight double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. She continued her stellar shooting by making five of her seven attempts. The freshman is now shooting 75-percent from the floor for the season.
Lynch was just two rebounds shy of a double-double with a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds. She also added four assists, two blocks and a steal. Pizzuto also reached double-figures with 10 points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal. Senior Shannon Smith finished the game with six blocks and now has 18 blocks in her last four games.
Sciascia led Immaculata with 18 points, including four three-pointers in the loss. The Mighty Macs are the sixth straight Fords' opponent to be held under 40-percent shooting. Seven Fords tallied an assist as the defending Centennial Conference Champions had 18 assists on 22 baskets. The Fords have at least 12 assists in seven of their eight games this season and have blocked 22 shots in their last three games.
Haverford improves to 5-4 on the season while Immaculata drops to 3-5. The Fords will take some time off for finals and the holidays before returning to the Gooding '84 Arena on Jan. 4 vs. Washington and Lee beginning at 1 p.m.