IMMACULATA, Pa. - The Haverford College women's basketball team (1-2) was upended by host Immaculata (3-1) at Alumnae Hall on Thursday evening, with the hosts prevailing by a final score of 58-54.
Ally Landau paced all scorers with 20 points while Kayla Robinson added another double-double effort to start the season, with 13 points and a game-best 14 rebounds to her ledger. Cortlyn Morris tallied eight points and 11 rebounds, to go with a whopping eight blocks, tying a career-best in an all-around dominant performance.
Immaculata started strong out of the gates, shooting 56 percent in the first quarter while jetting out to an 11-4 lead. The fast start included a terrific stretch fom Erin Kelly. Kelly gave the Mighty Macs a 14-6 advantage with a three-pointer with 5:29 to go in the first and extended the lead to 10 with a layup at 16-6 with Haverford still searching for answers. She finished the first quarter with 10 points on a 4-for-4 effort from the field.
A jumper from Landau cut the Immaculata lead to just six with 8:07 to go in the second, but a quick 7-0 spurt for the hosts put the Mighty Macs up by 13 at 29-16 with 3:37 left in the first half, forcing the Fords into a timeout. A 6-2 stretch for the Fords, punctuated by buckets from Gia Flamini and Robinson in the final three minutes trimmed the Immaculata lead to nine entering intermission at 31-22.
Haverford struggled for consistency on the perimeter in the first half, shooting just 23.5 percent, including an 0-for-9 clip from beyond the arc through the first 20 minutes of action.
A 6-0 Haverford run in the final three minutes of the third quarter cut the lead to just five at 42-37 in favor of the hosts, as Robinson connected on a layup and later assisted on a three-pointer from Landau ahead of a Flamini layup with 1:49 remaining. Robinson's layup with 48 seconds remaining in the stanza trimmed the lead to a one possession ballgame, but Abigail Lentowski send the game into the fourth quarter with a 46-41 Mighty Macs lead in hand, connecting on a layup for her ninth and 10th points of the contest.
Haverford opened the fourth quarter on a quick 7-0 run, restoring a 48-46 lead, the first Fords advantage since it was 4-3 in favor of the visitors just 45 seconds into the contest. Landau connected on a triple with 7:34 to go, punctuating a hot stretch to begin the final frame.
Immaculata tied the contest at 52-52 with a layup from Morgan Falcone, prompting a Haverford timeout with 2:16 showing on the regulation clock. Reese Mullins gave the hosts the lead back with a mid-range jumper that came with 42 seconds remaining, and Immaculata added to that tally from the free-throw line, holding a 56-52 lead with just 25 seconds to go. A put-back layup from Morris clawed Haverford within two at 56-54 with nine seconds remaining, but Mullins hit both of her free throws with Haverford forced to foul with the shot clock off, as the Macs escaped with a 58-54 victory, closing the contest on a 9-2 run.
The Fords won the battle on the glass 39-33, and scored nine points on turnovers, but Immaculata staked its advantage with a better shooting night from the field (38.6 percent to 27.4 percent) and 22 points from its reserve unit. Immaculata spread around the scoring with three players reaching double figures, paced by Mullins with 11. Morgan Falcone added eight rebounds to six points and four assists in a well-rounded effort.
Women's Basketball now returns to action on Saturday, opening up the Centennial Conference slate in Carlisle, Pa. at Dickinson. The contest is slated for a 2 p.m. tip-off. Last season, Haverford swept the Red Devils, including a 55-47 win at the Kline Center.