HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team overcame Gettysburg in an overtime thriller, 68-59, to notch a key Centennial Conference victory. The Fords (14-7, 9-5 CC) held the visiting Bullets (15-5, 9-5 CC) to just over 26 percent shooting in the second half to rally for the tie. Haverford completed the comeback by holding Gettysburg to just 1-of-8 from the field in the extra period.
Samantha Wetzel scored a career-high 22 points to lead her team to victory. She was one of three players who reached double figures in the overtime contest as she also pulled down nine rebounds and dished out six assists. Katie Cook finished with 12 points on the afternoon, while Sierra Berkel scored 10 points and added eight rebounds. Gettysburg's offense was led by Emma Dorshimer, who finished with 27 points. She started out the game red hot by making her first 10 shots of the afternoon from the field and did not miss her first attempt until deep into the fourth quarter. The Bullets also finished with three players in double figures.
In what seemed like a scoring battle of wills early on, Wetzel's shooting prowess gave the Fords their first seven points. Her early points helped Haverford jump out in front with an early 11-7 advantage. However, a pair of three-pointers from Dorshimer helped fuel a 12-0 Gettysburg run that closed the first quarter and saw the visitors up 19-11 after 10 minutes. Dorshimer and Wetzel finished the opening quarter with 11 and seven points, respectively.
Haverford began to close the gap by winning both the second and third quarters. Four straight points from Wetzel started her 10-point second quarter which saw the Fords close the gap to as few as three points following a free throw from Berkel with 8:04 left in the half. The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter before a three-pointer from Wetzel set the score at 32-27 as the teams headed to the locker room.
After chipping into the lead during the second quarter, Haverford put the pedal down offensively in the third to reclaim its first lead since the opening quarter. A majority of the Fords' 21-9 advantage in third quarter action came in the final 5:28. With the Bullets leading 41-38, Haverford scored the final 10 points of the quarter and held a 48-41 edge going into the final 10 minutes. A jump shot from Olivia Walsh gave the Fords their first lead of the second half with a 42-41 edge and under three minutes to play in the third.
The Fords kept that advantage all the way up until the 3:01 mark of the fourth quarter when back-to-back baskets from Jessica Porter gave the Bullets a 55-52 edge. Nevertheless, the Fords tied the game down the stretch following a jump shot and later free throw from Berkel with 1:04 remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.
After a strong defensive start to the extra period from both sides, the Fords did not trail the entire overtime session when Darby Festa's layup put her team up two points with 3:17 remaining in the contest. With 1:06 remaining, the Fords were up by just three, 61-58, but closed out the game by hitting nine of their final 10 free throws to seal the crucial 68-59 win.
With a season sweep of the Bullets, women's basketball is now tied with Gettysburg for the third spot in the conference standings. The Fords would have the tiebreaker by virtue of the two regular season victories if they finished tied in the final standings. However, the Fords will have four more Centennial Conference dates to close the regular season. The first of those contests will be a trip to No. 11 Muhlenberg on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. tip.