SWARTHMORE, Pa. – A 61-48 wire-to-wire win Saturday over host Swarthmore College by the Haverford College women's basketball team was one for the books as the Centennial Conference victory moved the Fords into the postseason for the first time in program history.
Dominique Meeks scored on a layup in the first minute to give Haverford (17-8, 12-8 CC) a 2-0 lead and the Fords never trailed in the rivalry victory over the Garnet (9-15 7-13). Meeks finished with a career-high 22 points to lead all scorers while Katie Lytle registered 14 points to lead the Swarthmore offense in defeat.
Saturday's win gave the Fords a series split with the Garnet this season and pushed Haverford to a 5-2.5 point advantage over Swarthmore in the annual Hood Trophy competition between the two schools.
The win -- along with other Centennial results Saturday -- moved Haverford into fourth place within the league standings meaning it will host the opening round game of the Centennial tournament. Fifth-place Ursinus College will travel to Gooding Arena to square off against the Fords in a 7 p.m. contest for the right to advance to the semifinals where top-seed Johns Hopkins University awaits the winner.
The Fords expanded their lead into double-digits following Meeks' opening basket Saturday but the hosts whittled the advantage to four, 21-17, with 2:41 left in the opening half. Haverford settled for a 24-19 lead heading into the break, then broke the game wide open in early second-half action.
Ahead by a score of 28-22, the Fords embarked on a 14-0 run over the next four minutes that included six points from Meeks, one three-pointer apiece from Rachel Baskin and Calla Miller, and a jumper by Shannon Smith.
The advantage hovered near that 20-point mark until the closing minutes but the "W" in the win column was all that mattered when the final horn sounded.
Miller, Baskin and Smith ripped down six rebonds apiece for Haverford in helping the team finish with a 31-29 advantage on the glass. Fourteen of the trios rebounds came in the defensive end.
The Fords finished with 10 steals and pestered Swarthmore into making 21 turnovers, from which Haverford scored 32 points.
Wednesday night's game will mark the third time Haverford and Ursinus will play this season with each team having won on its home court during the regular season. Conference leader Johns Hopkins will host the semifinals and championship game on Friday and Saturday in Baltimore, Md.
One of Friday's semifinals will pit the hosts against the Haverford-Ursinus winner, and the other will be a match-up between second-seed Muhlenberg College and third-seed Franklin & Marshall College. The semifinal winners will meet in the championship game Saturday afternoon.