HAVERFORD, Pa. - In its first contest of 2019, the Haverford College women's basketball team (8-3, 4-3 CC) was edged 54-45 by visiting Johns Hopkins (9-2, 5-1 CC) on Saturday afternoon inside Gooding '84 Arena.  The Fords were paced by a 16-point effort from junior Megan Furch, who matched a career high in points for the second straight conference contest. The matchup featured eight lead changes and four ties.

After both sides struggled for offensive rhythm in the first quarter, Haverford began to find its shooting form in the second, shooting 46.2 percent in the stanza while amassing a 17-13 advantage. After Lexie Scholtz gave Johns Hopkins an early 8-7 lead, Haverford went on an 8-0 run to pull to a 15-8 advantage with just over five minutes left in the half. Johns Hopkins was able to find its way back into the lead at 16-15, but a 9-2 run to end the half allowed Haverford to take a six-point cushion into the intermission as senior co-captains Macy Goldbach and Katie Cook each connected on shots from beyond the arc in the flurry.

The third period saw the visitors whittle down the Haverford advantage, eventually taking the lead back at 29-28 with a Madison McGrath trey. After getting fouled with 2:50 to play in the quarter, Maddie Gallic hit a pair of free throws to restore a one-point lead for the Fords at 32-31. A 6-0 run that stretched into the final quarter saw the Blue Jays regain the lead and extend their cushion to five. Furch connected on a jumper to cut the lead back to just one possession, but McGrath again knocked down a trey with 6:19 remaining in regulation as the Johns Hopkins lead grew to double digits. Furch had an answer with a jumper on the other end before Lillian Scott completed a three-point play with 5:08 remaining to hand the visitors their largest cushion of the contest at 47-36.  

Johns Hopkins was able to seal victory at the free-throw line, connecting on six of eight attempts in the final 90 seconds of the contest. Haverford posted a season-best nine blocks on the afternoon, with Goldbach, Gallic, Caroline Andersen, and Julianna Clark each contributing two. Furch added six rebounds to her 16 points while Clark tallied five rebounds off the bench.

The Fords will now head back out on the road for a contest at Dickinson on Tuesday, January 8. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. and will be followed by the Haverford men taking on the Red Devils at 8 p.m. inside the Kline Center.

Haverford returns home on Saturday, January 12 against McDaniel. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.