HAVERFORD, Pa. - In the Centennial Conference opener at Gooding '84 Arena, the Haverford College women's basketball team (4-1, 1-0 CC) powered past visiting Dickinson (1-2, 0-1 CC) by a 59-47 final, thanks in part to a big third quarter that saw the Fords dominate time of possession en route to a 16-7 advantage in the frame.
Ally Landau added a career-best 22 points while playing every minute of the contest. Cortlyn Morris contributed 16 points and eight rebounds while Kayla Robinson was once again a force off the bench, pouring in eight points and pulling down 10 rebounds. The Fords owned the glass to the tune of a 38-34 advantage, and forced Dickinson into 20 turnovers on the afternoon.
The Fords began the contest on a 7-2 run, with Landau connecting on a pair of jumpers to help key that hot early start. In a scrappy opening to the contest, Haverford took advantage of five Dickinson turnovers in the first eight minutes, capitalizing on loose balls with a swarming defensive pressure that seemed to stop the visitors in their tracks and limited the offensive rhythm Dickinson could develop. The Haverford lead eventually hit 13-4 with Landau earning 10 of those points. The Red Devils responded on a 5-0 run of their own to crawl back within four, but Morris finished in the paint in the final minute for a 15-9 lead.
Annabelle Copeland opened the second quarter with a 4-0 spurt on her own, but Dickinson kept itself in the contest with some hot shooting from beyond the arc. Haverford called for timeout with its lead down to just six at 23-17 with 5:36 remaining on the clock, and the Red Devils tied the score with under four minutes left, pulling to 23-23 with a methodical 12-2 run.
Landau then finished with a crafty coast-to-coast layup, and Copeland teamed up with Morris for a steal and score as the Fords pulled back ahead at 27-23 with 1:34 remaining before the halftime break. Jennifer Kremp connected from downtown for the Red Devils, proving the visitors were right back in the contest, and Haverford headed into intermission clinging to just a one-point advantage.
The Fords ran out on a 4-2 spurt to begin the second half, and eventually completed a 10-2 run that spanned the final minutes of the third quarter to take control of the contest up 44-34 going into the final period. Dickinson pulled back to within seven with a three-pointer from Clair Marion with 8:38 to play, and another strong stretch from the Red Devils cut the lead to just five with 5:26 to go. A 7-0 run from the hosts restored a 12-point Haverford lead, and Robinson added an emphatic layup with 43 seconds remaining to reflect the eventual 59-47 final score.
Haverford improves to 10-0 in its last 10 meetings with Dickinson. The Fords haven't dropped a decision to the Red Devils since the 2016 Centennial Conference tournament.
The Fords return to action on Tuesday in the final game before the break for the Thanksgiving holiday, heading down to the Eastern Shore of Maryland for the second matchup of a doubleheader at Washington College (8 p.m.). The men's game will precede the Fords and Shorewomen, with tip-off in the opening contest slated for 6 p.m.