HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team will head into the winter break with plenty of momentum after a 58-32 win against Washington College on Saturday afternoon. Playing a game between the top two defensive teams in the Centennial Conference, the Fords (7-2, 4-1 CC) held the Shorewomen (3-4, 2-3 CC) to just two field goals during the entire first half. WAC finished the half shooting just seven percent and made just 27.1% of its attempts from the field for the game.
Samantha Wetzel led Haverford's offense which shot just over 40% for the game as she scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double in nine games this season. Sierra Berkel scored 12 points with most of her damage coming at the free throw line as the Shorewomen had no answer for the Fords' first-team All-Centennial Conference forward in the second half. Macy Goldbach added nine points with three treys as eight different players found the scoresheet for Haverford. Alexis Krahling scored nine points to lead the visiting Shorewomen.
Washington College did not score its first point of the afternoon until almost six minutes into regulation. By that time, the Fords had built an 8-0 advantage with four points in the paint from both Berkel and Wetzel. Wetzel finished the opening quarter with a total of six points as the Fords led 12-3.
Wetzel continued her scoring purge at the start of the second quarter as her jumper made it 14-3. Washington College got those two points back on its next possession, but the Shorewomen would not score for the remaining 8:57 of the half. The Fords once again capitalized with a 12-0 run that made the score 26-7 at the break.
Even with a sizeable advantage in hand, Haverford outscored Washington College during each of the four quarters. The Fords' lead first reached a 20 point advantage with 6:23 to play in the third quarter when Berkel made one of her frequent trips to the charity stripe, giving her team a 29-9 advantage.
Once it got out to a 20 point advantage, the Fords never relinquished that margin. Haverford's largest lead came at the final buzzer as Aleiyah Springer converted a layup with time winding down in the fourth quarter to set the final at 58-32.
Getting back to its traditional style of play, Haverford committed just seven turnovers all game while forcing the Shorewomen into 20 giveaways. Katie Cook and Megan Furch each came up with two of Haverford's six total steals. The Fords also passed the ball extremely well, assisting on 11 of the team's 22 field goals. Maddie Gallic had a team-high six helpers while Cook also dished out two assists. Wetzel added to her school record with three blocked shots on the afternoon.
Women's basketball will now have nearly a month before returning to the courts for the 2018 portion of the schedule. As team prepares for finals and breaks for winter, Haverford will next play on Saturday, January 6 when Dickinson comes to the Gooding '84 Arena for a 1 p.m. tip which will be a doubleheader before the men's start against the Red Devils.