GETTYSBURG – Elizabeth Lynch's two free throws in the final seconds of overtime pushed the Haverford College women's basketball team to a 66-65 Centennial conference win over host Gettysburg College on Thursday night. The Fords' victory was the first in 25 consecutive tries against the Bullets.
Haverford (7-3, 4-3 CC) trailed Gettysburg (4-7, 2-4) throughout the overtime period until Lynch's free throws with five seconds remaining. She scrambled for a loose ball in the Fords' offensive end and drew a foul to gain her chance at the free throw line.
The outcome wasn't decided until after Gettysburg pushed the ball up court on the inbounds play and Haverford's Dominique Meeks came up with another loose ball near the Bullets' three-point line as time expired.
With 14:20 remaining in the second half, the Fords trailed their hosts by a 45-33 score but a 10-2 run -- with baskets from five different Haverford players -- trimmed the margin to four with a little more than nine minutes left in regulation.
Gettysburg answered with a 6-0 run but the Fords battled back to tie the score at 57 with 2:32 on the clock. Each team scored one more basket to send the contest into the extra period, tied at 59.
Haverford led 11-9 in the early going after a Jacquelyne Pizzuto layup but Gettysburg's Sara Kinsley converted a short jumper to knot the score at 11-11. The Bullets took control and opened up a lead that grew to 11 before settling for a six-point advantage, 32-26, at the half.
The Fords pounded the basket from in close all night, piling up 30 points from within the paint while limiting Gettysburg to just 14 from under the bucket. Though the hosts led the battle on the glass out rebounding the Fords by a 36-28 margin, Meeks pulled down a game-high eight rebounds for Haverford.
Meeks, with a team-high 14 points, was one of four Haverford players to score in double-digits. Pizzuto added 12 and Rachel Baskin and Calla Miller chipped in with 10 points apiece. Gettysburg's Alyssa Oursier led her team in both points (17) and rebounds (6).
The Fords step out of league action for their next game before embarking on a three-game Centennial run after Saturday's non-conference tilt at home in Gooding Arena against visiting Albright College. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.