HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's basketball team (12-5, 9-5 CC) was back in action against Centennial Conference foes Franklin & Marshall (6-10, 4-7 CC) inside Gooding Arena on Saturday. The Fords came away with a 66-45 victory behind another strong defensive display. Kayla Robinson led the team in scoring with 13 points and ten rebounds, registering a double-double. Haverford also forced Franklin & Marshall into 23 turnovers, which in the end, proved to be a significant factor in the Fords victory.
The Haverford defense was aggressive in the early goings, with the team collecting three steals in only the first three minutes of action. After that, both teams made it a point to feed the paint and find scoring inside. Cortlyn Morris and Caroline Andersen both contributed early baskets in the paint with the Haverford guard unit paced by Ally Landau and Gia Flamini dishing them pinpoint passes.
On the other end, F&M's Kenna Williams made her impact known with eight early points for the Diplomats in the first quarter. After that, it was up to Haverford to figure out a way to slow her down. Both teams traded baskets, but Haverford finished the quarter with a one-point advantage. The turnovers continued for the Diplomats in the second quarter. Haverford continued to get hands-on the ball, causing deflections whenever F&M wanted to get the ball inside. Haverford forced ten turnovers in the first 14 minutes, scoring 13 points off of those takeaways. Again, Morris led the charge for the Fords. The junior connected on back-to-back layups in the eight-minute mark and was fouled on a made basket, adding another point after a successful free throw attempt. Her big quarter jump-started a critical run for the Fords as they built a seven-point advantage with two minutes remaining in the half.
The half ended with the Fords on top 27-22 after Flamini connected from deep to beat the halftime buzzer. The battle between the Fords and Diplomats continued to begin the second half as Haverford did their best to protect a narrow lead. However, the game's pace slowed down due to some foul trouble from the Fords. F&M was in the bonus with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Even while protecting the foul trouble of the Fords' frontcourt options, they were still able to force F&M into additional turnovers.
The Diplomats cut the lead to just one in the final minute. However, a big three from Summer Ryan pushed the lead back to four points with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Following a successful free throw from Quinn Galligan, the Fords were clinging to just a three-point lead going into the final quarter. Franklin & Marshall finished the quarter sitting at 19 turnovers, with Haverford earning 21 points off those turnovers.
In a big shift of momentum, Haverford fully controlled the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. Baskets from Flamini, Robinson, and Ryan pushed the lead to nine, the biggest of the game at the time. With the Fords getting baskets from just about everyone who played, Robinson and Erin Albright ran the show in the final quarter. Robinson scored eight of her 13 points in the last quarter. Albright made almost every shot she put up in the fourth, scoring nine of her 11 points in the final quarter.
Thanks to the hot shooting, the Fords scored 28 points in the final quarter, the most in a single period this season. Haverford won the battle in the paint, outscoring the Diplomats 32-24. The Fords also shot 40 percent from deep, connecting on six of their 15 attempts while getting an assist on 16 of their 25 made shots for the game.
Landau finished the game with 12 points and six assists. Andersen finished with eight points while Morris again was a force with 12 points, four blocks, and four rebounds.
The Fords have won 18 consecutive contests with the Diplomats, a stretch that dates back to the 2012-13 season. Haverford returns to action on Monday with a non-conference contest with Immaculata inside Gooding Arena. The contest is slated for 7 p.m.