HAVERFORD, Pa. – Freshman guard Elizabeth Lynch's 10 second-half points keyed a late rally to propel Haverford College's women's basketball team to a hard-fought Centennial Conference victory over Johns Hopkins University, 41-37, on Saturday afternoon at Gooding Arena.
The fifth-straight victory for the Fords (11-3, 7-3 CC) qualifies as the second longest win-streak in program history. It also completes their first regular-season sweep of the Blue Jays (12-2, 7-2) in program history.
Haverford took an early three-point lead just under two minutes into the second half on a lay-up by Dominique Meeks before the Blue Jays reeled off seven straight to go ahead, 22-18. Johns Hopkins continued to play front-runner for the majority of the half and extended its lead to eight with 3:44 remaining, 35-27. The Fords did not go quietly however, as they roared back with 10 straight points from four different players over the next two minutes, capped by a three pointer from Lynch at the 1:47 mark, to grab the lead back at 37-35. The defense took over from there holding the Blue Jays to just two points the rest of the way while Haverford went 4-of-5 from the free throw line in the final 34 seconds to secure the victory.
The conference's top two defensive squads lived up to their reputations as they engaged in a first-half battle that saw only seven field goals scored over the first twenty minutes. Hopkins took the largest first-half lead enjoyed by either team at 5-1 just two minutes into action as the remainder of the half saw the score tied twice and narrow leads exchanged by each team. The Blue Jays held a three-point advantage with 2:33 remaining before Haverford sophomore guard Rachel Baskin sunk two free throws with under a minute remaining to trim the Fords' deficit to one at intermission.
Haverford's defense made its mark in the contest as it has it has done all season pestering Johns Hopkins into 27 percent shooting from the field on the afternoon and forcing 29 Blue Jays turnovers.
Lynch struck for four three pointers on the day and finished with 16 points to lead all scorers. Meeks added nine points and six rebounds. Baskin continued her strong all-around play with a game-high four assists to go along with eight points, five rebounds, and three steals.
Chantel Mattiola led the Blue Jays with eight points and Alex Vassila grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Fords, whose 11 wins surpass the entire win total from the 2010-11 season, finish out the non-conference portion of their schedule Monday night at Arcadia University at 6 p.m.