WESTMINSTER, Md. - The Haverford College women's basketball team (8-5, 5-4 CC) came away with a hard-fought 59-46 victory over the homestanding Green Terror of McDaniel (3-8, 1-5 CC) on Tuesday evening inside the Gil Center as Centennial Conference action continued.
Haverford received a strong showing from senior Caroline Andersen in her second game back from injury, as she poured in 11 points and notched four rebounds in an all-around performance from the post. Ally Landau was the tone-setter offensively with 21 points, matching a career high. Kayla Robinson tallied 11 rebounds to pace the Fords, who held a 35-25 advantage on the glass. The Fords shot 53.7 from the field, tied for the sixth-best output in program history and a season-best for 2021-22.
McDaniel struggled from the field in the early goings, as Haverford limited the hosts to just a 3-for-17 performance from the field in the first quarter of action. Meanwhile, it was Haverford who was able to build its lead steadily as the game began on an 8-3 run for the Fords. The visitors found success in the paint led by the presence of Andersen off the bench while taking advantage of the cold start from the Green Terror.
The lead eventually reached 15-7 as Andersen converted on back-to-back layups with the hosts looking for answers, facing their largest deficit of the contest to that point at the end of the stanza. A 7-0 run out of the second period gates was punctuated by a deep three from Katie Klein as McDaniel answered back with a flourish to cut the Haverford lead to just one. Summer Ryan then made the most of her reserve stint with a trey to push the Fords lead back to seven at 21-14, and Landau later converted a layup with a crafty finish before Ryan again found the bucket just before the halftime intermission.
McDaniel finished the half with a field goal from Klein to head into the locker rooms with just a five-point deficit despite Haverford's stifling defensive pressure forcing the hosts into difficult shot selection. A 9-4 Haverford run to open the third was keyed by the strong play of Landau, who helped set the tone defensively to limit the perimeter opportunities from the Green Terror while keying the attack on the offensive end.
After a quick 4-0 spurt for the hosts, Haverford extended the lead to 14 with a 6-0 run capped by a layup from Eleanor Alix. McDaniel surged back with a 7-0 run, using a full court press to frustrate the Haverford offense as Ellie Connelly and Klein found the bucket as the final seconds ticked off the third stanza.
Landau opened the fourth with a 5-0 run of her own ahead of a jumper from Gia Flamini as a 7-2 run for the Fords restored a 10 point lead. McDaniel jetted out on another 5-0 run with Klein again finding the bucket for her 12th point of the contest, but Landau converted a jumper with 6:09 to give the Fords up seven, and the Fords closed out the contest on a 10-2 run.
Women's basketball has now won five consecutive contests with the Green Terror, including three straight triumphs on the road in the series. The Fords will now continue a busy week of action with a home contest against Ursinus on Thursday. The contest, which is slated to begin at 6 p.m. Haverford's first contest will mark the first contest of a doubleheader that also sees the men's squad taking on the Bears at 8 p.m. Haverford posted one of its finest performances of the season in the first matchup between the two teams on December 2, a convincing 61-39 win for the Fords.