GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team picked up a 59-52 neutral site victory over Sage on Saturday afternoon at the Griffin Complex on the campus of Gwynedd Mercy University. Haverford has now won two straight to open the season for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign, when Haverford posted wins over Marymount (Va.) and TCNJ en-route to a 24-4 record and a berth in the NCAA Division III tournament second round.
The Fords earned the victory behind another double-double effort from senior Samantha Wetzel, who tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds in addition to five blocks.
Sophomore Megan Furch also proved to be a force with a career-best 11 rebounds while sophomore Anna-Sophia Capizzi chipped in 11 points, including three made shots from beyond the arc. Haverford improves to 2-0 on the season while the Gators of Sage, a squad that finished the season with a 21-6 mark a season ago, fall to 0-1 on the young season.
In the first quarter, neither team was able to separate much in the early goings as Haverford held just a 14-10 lead at end of the first 10 minutes of play. Emily Parslow cut the Haverford lead to just one at 14-13 with a three-pointer to open the second quarter scoring before Madasyn Bush converted a layup to put Sage up by one at 15-14. The Fords battled back to take a 20-19 lead on an Capizzi trey with 5:35 left in the first half.
A 5-0 Gators run fueled solely by Bush put Sage up 24-20 with 2:30 left in the half, but a Macy Goldbach three-pointer tied the score at 25-25 with 49 seconds left in the second quarter. Macie Holmes made 1-of-2 from the free throw line in the final second of the period to give Sage the slim halftime lead.
After Furch and Goldbach scored to open up the third, a 10-0 run for Sage put Haverford down by seven at 36-29. Capizzi hit a three to cut the lead to four at 36-32 and a Maddie Gallic jumper cut the Gators lead to 40-38 with 1:40 left in the third. Following a Holmes three-pointer, first year Julianna Clark provided a 4-0 run with a three-point play ahead of a shot from beyond the arc as the Fords regained the lead at 44-43.
Holmes drilled another jumper in the final seconds of the quarter to hand Sage a one-point lead and the Gators started the quarter on a 4-0 lead, with visions of pulling away. Haverford had other plans as Wetzel converted a layup and Furch hit a runner to get the momentum back on the side of the Fords. Holmes again responded with a three-pointer, but Wetzel quickly answered the call with points on the other end as the Fords trailed by just two at 52-50 with 5:52 remaining in regulation.
Capizzi connected from three-point land for a 55-52 lead with 4:09 to play, a momentous shot that would serve as the dagger as the Fords would hold Sage without a basket for the remainder of the contest.
As is customary for recent incarnations of the Haverford squad, the Fords were able to seal the game at the free throw line. Gallic and Wetzel each hit crucial free throws in the waning seconds to send the Fords to a second consecutive win.
Unique Tuberville had a solid contest, finishing with a career-high seven points, to go with three rebounds while Clark had six points and two boards in just her second career game. Holmes had a game-high 16 points for Sage while Megan Flynn chipped in a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds).
The meeting was the first ever matchup between the two programs. Earlier on Saturday, the tournament host Griffins took down Penn State Harrisburg, 61-50, to set up a tournament final matchup between Gwynedd Mercy and Haverford at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.