HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford women's basketball team was edged in the Centennial Conference semifinals by visiting Gettysburg on Friday evening, 59-55, at the Gooding '84 Arena on the Haverford campus. Haverford received a 13 point, 12 rebound night from Sierra Berkel. Berkel tallied her sixth double-double of the season while Samantha Wetzel added 10 points. The Bullets were able to escape with victory in a contest that was dramatically tight from the opening tip until the final buzzer. Haverford falls to 19-7 overall while Gettysburg improves to 20-7 overall on the season.
Emma Dorshimer led all scorers with 19 points while Emma Hanner and Emily Gibbons poured in 13 and 11 points, respectively, for Gettysburg. Berkel added five assists to her total while Maddie Gallic dished out four. Haverford outshot its opponent 41.7 percent (20-48) to 40.8 percent (20-49) on the evening.
Haverford started the game on a scoring spurt, taking a seven point lead at 14-7 with 3:59 left in the first quarter as Berkel sank a layup and Wetzel hit a jumper to the delight of a revved up home crowd. Behind the home support, The Fords seized the early momentum and looked poised to turn away the Bullets early.
Undaunted by the hostile confines, Gettysburg used an Ashley Gehrin layup to pull to within two at 14-12 with 2:06 left in the quarter and tied the score at 16-16 with 9:10 left in the second as Gibbons hit a jumper. Dorshimer connected on a three-pointer with 3:49 remaining in the half to put the visitors up four at 24-20. A Wetzel jumper with 27 seconds left on the clock cut the lead to just two at the half as Haverford headed into the locker room down a pair.
A three-pointer from Hahner put Gettysburg ahead seven at 33-26, but Haverford pulled back to within two with a Katie Cook jumper with 4:29 remaining in the third. Macy Goldbach made a pair of free throws with 1:55 on the clock to tie the score at 40-40 and the teams traded free throws, with Megan Furch hitting one of two at the line in the waning seconds of the quarter. Haverford headed into the final frame down just one yet again, at 43-42.
After the teams traded buckets in the early part of the fourth quarter, Anna-Sophia Capizzi hit a momentous three-pointer that brought the raucous crowd to its feet as Haverford pulled ahead 49-47. The Bullets pulled ahead 50-49 with a Hahner jumper, but with 3:02 remaining in regulation, Wetzel picked up a pair of free throws as Gettysburg saw its lead shrink down to just one at 51-50.
A Dorshimer layup extended the lead to three at 54-51 and Berkel missed a pair of free throws on the other end. Dorshimer converted from the line to extend the lead to 56-51 in favor of the visitors, but Kendra Meredith missed both of her free throws attempts on the next possession, giving the Fords new life.
Maddie Gallic made one of three from the charity stripe and Haverford trailed 56-52 with 14 seconds remaining. Kiera Cesareo converted a pair from the line to extend the lead to six for Gettysburg, but Berkel hit her first career three-pointer to make it a three-point game with four seconds to play.
Unfortunately for Haverford, Ashley Gehrin was fouled on the ensuing inbound play and hit one of her two free throws, missing the second intentionally to seal the road upset victory for Gettysburg.
Head coach Bobbi Morgan's team compiled a 19-7 overall record and 16-4 mark in Centennial Conference play. Haverford has made the Centennial Conference tournament for a program-record six consecutive years.
Gettysburg will now play Muhlenberg at 4:00 p.m. at Gooding '84 Arena in the Centennial Conference championship game on Saturday afternoon, with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.