LANCASTER, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team fell short in its attempt to go undefeated against the top three teams in the Centennial Conference in the month of January as it fell,64-51, to host Franklin & Marshall College Saturday afternoon.
The Fords (13-6, 8-6 CC), having already taken down first and second-place Johns Hopkins and Muhlenberg this month, hoped to avenge an early season loss suffered at the hands of the Diplomats (13-6, 10-4) in December. Despite Haverford's best efforts, Franklin & Marshall managed to grab the victory and consequently became the first team to sweep the season series with the Fords as it handed Haverford just its second loss on the road this season.
A fast start by the Dips led to an early 8-2 lead two and a half minutes into the contest. Haverford answered with its own spurt as Rachel Baskin's three pointer at 12:41 gave the Fords their first lead of the afternoon, 11-8. Franklin & Marshall regained a slim lead, 17-14, two minutes later but Haverford hung tough. Despite facing a tough Diplomat defense that limited the Fords' looks in the opening half Haverford trailed by only three, 19-16, with a little over seven minutes remaining in the half. Yet Franklin & Marshall limited the Fords to only seven more points before intermission to stake a 35-23 lead at the break.
Haverford shot a solid 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from the field in the first half but was plagued by 12 turnovers. On the other end of the floor, the Fords held the leading scorer in the conference, Alexa Barbush, to just six points but couldn't cool off the Dips overall as they hit for 50 percent, 14-of-28, from the field.
Franklin & Marshall continued its sharp-shooting ways in the opening minutes of the second half as it held a 14 point lead on three occasions but Haverford did not go quietly. Victoria Sobocinski's layup with 9:29 on the clock capped off a 14-4 run, spanning eight and half minutes, to cut the score to 45-41. The Fords experienced a cold spell though, and would not get any closer as the Dips closed out the victory.
Jacquelyne Pizzuto, continuing her strong play at the point guard spot, paced the Fords with 12 points to tie her career high. Sobocinski chipped in with a season-high 11 points and five rebounds. Baskin grabbed seven rebounds to lead Haverford on the glass.
Sharing game-high honors, Barbush and Megan Pauley both tallied 14 points for the Dips. Kristina McCarthy pulled down 11 rebounds.
Haverford's conference road test continues as it heads to Washington College Wednesday for a 6 p.m. match-up.