HAVERFORD, Pa. – Another sterling defensive effort propelled the Haverford College women's basketball team to its first playoff victory in program history Wednesday night as the Fords rolled past Ursinus College, 55-41, in the first round of the Centennial Conference playoffs at Gooding Arena.
Fourth-seeded Haverford (18-8, 12-8 CC) and fifth-seeded Ursinus (13-13, 12-8) split the season series with each squad posting a win on its home floor. The determined Fords, taking advantage of the comfortable confines in their inaugural playoff contest, gave the appearance of seasoned playoff veterans from the opening tip.
Dominique Meeks' layup a minute into the contest staked Haverford to a 2-0 lead and from there the Fords never looked back. Meeks scored six of Haverford's first eight points of the game as it jumped out to an 8-2 lead seven minutes into the contest. Ursinus had closed the gap to 8-6 with 12 minutes left in the half when the Fords broke the game open with a 16-1 run over the next seven minutes, which saw five different players contribute, to extend their lead to 24-7. Ursinus countered with its own 10-2 run to end the half to put the score at 26-17.
Haverford shot 50 percent from field, 11-of-22, including 3-of-7 from behind the arc in the opening twenty minutes. The defensive effort was just as strong as the Fords pestered Ursinus, averaging just 14.3 turnovers a contest (ninth-lowest in Division-III) into 10 turnovers in the first half.
The Bears sprung to life early in the second half trimming Haverford's advantage to two with 11 minutes remaining in the contest. The resilient Fords, who are 14-2 this season when leading at intermission, pushed right back with a 12-2 run over the next three and a half minutes, capped by a three pointer by Elizabeth Lynch, to push out to a 40-28 advantage with 7:43 on the clock. Haverford kept Ursinus at a distance throughout the rest of the contest as it went 11-of-14 from the free throw line in the final two and a half minutes to secure the historic victory.
Dominique Meeks, a day removed from being named to the All-Centennial second team, paced Haverford with her fourth double- double of the season -- 15 points and 10 rebounds. Rachel Baskin chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds while Jacquelyne Pizzuto added eight points and a team-high six assists.
The Fords' defense, a trademark all season, put forth one of its finest efforts of the year as it held Ursinus to 26 percent shooting (12-of-46) from the floor for the game. Only able to connect on five field goals in the second half, the Bears' 41 points qualifies as their lowest scoring output of the season. Lindsay Teuber led Ursinus with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Haverford heads to Johns Hopkins, host of the conference tournament, to take on the No.1 seed and 25th-ranked Blue Jays on Friday night at 6 p.m. in the first of two semifinals. The Fords swept Johns Hopkins in the regular season giving the Blue Jays two of their three losses on the season. Muhlenberg faces Franklin & Marshall in the second semifinal of the night.