HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team overcame a sluggish first half start, roaring to a 22 point win over rival Swarthmore on Wednesday evening inside the Gooding '84 Arena, earning Hood Trophy points with the 63-41 victory. The Fords received 13 points each from senior co-captains Sierra Berkel and Samantha Wetzel while sophomore Megan Furch had 10 points and six rebounds off the bench. The Fords improve to 12-3 on the season and 8-2 in Centennial Conference action. Swarthmore is now 3-11 overall on the year and 1-7 in conference play.
Haverford was unable to shake an early challenge from the upstart Garnet, as the two teams were deadlocked in the early goings. An Audra Woodside layup to close the first quarter knotted the score at 17-17. The Fords struggled for a consistent rhythm after falling behind 21-19 at the 8:05 mark of the second quarter.
Berkel knocked down one of two free throws to cut the lead to one at 21-20 with 7:48 left in the half, but the two teams would be stagnant at that score until the the 3:06 mark of the half as Woodside finished a layup. Wetzel responded on the other end, but Woodside made a pair from the charity stripe before Hayley Raymond knocked down a jumper as suddenly Swarthmore found themselves up five with 1:17 remaining in the half.
Anna-Sophia Capizzi breathed some life into the Fords bench with a three-pointer with under a minute remaining in the stanza, but Isabelle Ewart converted a layup in the final seconds for a four point Swarthmore lead at 29-25 entering the break.
The second half began strong for the Garnet as a 4-0 run to open play gave the visitors a 33-25 advantage. Haverford regrouped and unleashed a 10-0 run, climbing back to take a 36-33 lead with a Macy Goldbach layup at the 4:49 mark of the quarter.
A 3-0 spurt for the Garnet briefly tried the score at 36-36 in the final minutes of the third but Haverford had its energy back at that point, rattling off a devastating 19-0 run that lasted for the majority of the fourth quarter, pulling to a comfortable 55-36 advantage with just under four minutes remaining.
Raina Gully had a career best four points off the bench for the Fords. Katie Cook again had an all-around solid performance with six rebounds, seven assists and three points.
Swarthmore was led by Woodside with 10 points and five rebounds. Raymond added nine points for the Garnet.
The Fords have now won the last five Hood Trophy matchups with Swarthmore. Haverford returns to action on Saturday, January 20 against Franklin & Marshall inside the Gooding '84 Arena. The contest is slated to get underway at 1 p.m. and will be followed by the Haverford men taking on the #21 Diplomats at 3:00 p.m.