HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team defeated Stevens, 56-49, in non-conference action at Gooding '84 Arena on Saturday afternoon. The contest was a thriller throughout, with both teams trading leads and runs deep into the fourth quarter of play. The matchup featured seven ties and six lead changes.
Haverford was led by sophomore guard Macy Goldbach, who poured in a career-best 21 points. Sierra Berkel had ten to go with eight rebounds while Freshman Megan Furch added a career-high eight. Haverford shot 53.8% in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Ducks, who were a team receiving votes in the most recent WBCA poll relesae. The Fords improve to 4-3 on the season while Stevens sits at 0-4 after the road defeat.
After Stevens got out to a hot start with a 10-4 lead, Goldbach hit a three to cut the lead to 10-7 with 4:37 left in the first quarter. Goldbach tied it at 10-10 with her second three in one minute with 4:25 remaining. Furch tied it with a layup at 12-12 with 2:15 left in the first quarter but Anna Toke nailed a jumper to make the score 14-12 in favor of the visitors. Anna-Sophia Capizzi hit a last second three to cut the score to 17-15 at the end of the opening stanza, as Clio Bodie was credited with an assist.
The Ducks controlled the tempo of the second quarter as Kaitlyn Astel hit the first bucket of the period to give Stevens a 20-15 advantage. Astel and Zoe Hahn connected on baskets to put Stevens up ten at 25-15. Berkel hit a jumper to cut the lead back to eight, but Hahn responded on the next possession to give Stevens an 11 point advantage with just 3:48 remaining in the half.
The Hahn bucket would be the last of the half for the Ducks, as the Fords benefited from a huge momentum swing that catapulted the squad into a 12-0 run to end the half. Capizzi nailed a three to cut the lead to eight at 28-20 with 3:35 left in the half and Berkel hit a layup to cut it to 28-22 at 2:15 remaining. Furch converted on a layup and completed a three point play from the line to cut the score to 28-25 with 1:39 left in the first half. Samantha Wetzel hit two free throws to cut it to a one point game at 28-27 and hit a jumper to put Haverford ahead at the halftime break 29-28.
At the end of the first half, Astel and Hahn led the way for Stevens with 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Fords spread the ball around a bit more with Capizzi, Goldbach, Wetzel and Berkel all registering six points while Furch added five. Haverford shot 30.3 percent in the first half while Stevens shot 40.7 percent, thanks in part to a 55.6 percent mark from beyond the arc.
As the third quarter began, Berkel picked up another bucket directly out the break to give Haverford a 31-28 lead. Astel tie scored the score at 32-32 with a layup at 3:43 left in the quarter, but Furch put the Fords back in the lead with a jumper. Elena Sanchez hit back–to-back layups to give Stevens a two-point lead before Amanda Quinerto and Astel traded jumpers to give Stevens a two-point lead going into the final quarter.
Goldbach hit a three to begin the fourth and Berkel hit one of two from the line to give Haverford a brief lead. The advantage was short lived as Astel again converted to give Stevens a 45-40 lead with just 4:25 to play. Capizzi drilled a three to cut the lead to two and a Goldbach three with 2:38 left put Haverford ahead by one. Goldbach followed up the three with a made jumper that put the Fords up three with 2:18 left, leading to a timeout from Stevens.
The Goldbach show continued for Haverford as the sophomore hit a layup to put the Fords up five, accounting for seven straight points overall and nine straight for the Fords. Anna Toke buried a three to cut the lead to three, but Goldbach again hit a layup in transition to put Haverford up five with just 48 seconds left, sending the crowd and bench into a frenzy.
Haverford cleaned up from the free throw line to walk away with a seven point win. Astel finished with 20 for Stevens while Hahn had 13. The two squads combined for 13 made three-pointers including four from Goldbach, three from Capizzi and two each from Astel, Hahn and Eria Guketlov of Stevens. Toke had a game-best three blocks while Wetzel added two blocks. Hahn and Alison Criswell had two steals each for Stevens.
It was the first ever meeting between the two programs, as the Ducks made the short jaunt from the Garden State.
Haverford will next return to action on Wednesday night against Muhlenberg, another team receiving votes in the latest WBCA poll. The contest represents the last home date before the winter holiday break. Game time is slated for 6:00 p.m. with the Haverford men's contest against the Mules following at 8:00 p.m.