CHESTERTOWN, Md. - The Haverford College women's basketball team (17-3, 14-1 CC) picked up its seventh straight victory Thursday night on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, coming away with an 53-42 win over host Washington College (8-13, 5-11 CC) at Cain Athletic Center.
Megan Furch scored a career-high 18 points to lead all players while Anna-Sophia Capizzi registered double-digit scoring for the 18th consecutive contest, pouring in 13 points and collecting a career-best 10 rebounds in her first career double-double effort. Julianna Clark added eight points and a career-best 10 rebounds to her ledger. Defensively, Cortlyn Morris was a standout with five blocks, a new career best for the first-year reserve. The Fords limited turnovers, committing just four, a season best total. A stout defensive effort held the Shorewomen to just four three-pointers on 27 attempts.
Haverford began the contest on an 11-4 run, as Clark started the action with a triple and Furch hit a jumper ahead of a pair of three-pointers from Capizzi. The second trey from the senior prompted Washington to call for a timeout with 4:28 showing on the game clock, but Haverford still led 14-9 after the opening quarter. Haverford stretched its lead to nine at 20-11 with Hannah Zoll notching a steal and quickly finding Furch in the paint for a layup. Raina Gully gave Haverford an 11-point lead, its largest of the half, knocking down a three-pointer with 3:25 remaining in the quarter.
A quick 5-0 response from the Shorewomen was cut short as Capizzi grabbed a steal and finished a layup in transition to give Haverford a 28-20 edge, as the Fords took a six-point cushion into the halftime break at 28-22. Washington struck first to begin the third, pulling to within a single possession with an early triple from Emilee Cramer, but Haverford then unleashed an 8-0 run to restore an 11-point cushion with under four minutes to play in the period.
The lead reached 13 as Capizzi knocked down her third triple of the night with 50 seconds left in the third, and a Clark jumper from long distance with 8:45 left in the fourth put Haverford up by 14 at 45-31. Furch completed an old-fashioned three-point play with 4:04 remaining in regulation as the Fords went up by 15 at 50-35. From that point, it was a defensive battle with the Fords withstanding a late 7-3 spurt by the Shorewomen. Nyla Robinson and Clark each converted from the charity stripe to turn away the last-ditch challenge from the hosts.
Haverford has now won 15 straight meetings with Washington College after Thursday's victory. Women's basketball now charges into a marquee battle for first place in the Centennial Conference at No. 19 Gettysburg on Saturday. The contest is slated for 1 p.m. and will be followed by the Haverford men taking on the Bullets at approximately 3 p.m.