CARLISLE, Pa. - The Haverford College women's basketball team (2-2, 1-0 CC) kicked off Centennial Conference play with an away trip to Dickinson College, where they defeated the Red Devils (1-2, 0-1 CC) by a final score of 54-38. After a tightly contested three quarters, the Fords handled business in the fourth to pull away from Dickinson. Ally Landau led the way for Haverford, scoring 28 points.
Landau was simply knocking down every shot she took in the first half. The point guard opened the game with a three and then a driving lay-up to push the Fords to a 5-0 lead. Dickinson battled back to tie the game until back-to-back buckets from Kayla Robinson and Cortlyn Morris pushed the lead to four points.
The two teams continued to trade baskets, but the Fords proved they were up to the task, taking a 16-12 lead into the second quarter. Landau accounted for 10 of the Fords' 16 points in the first quarter and continued to be the focal point in the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Fords took their biggest lead of the game of eight after another Landau three at 9:31, and a Gia Flamini floater a minute later. However, the Red Devils were feisty. They clawed back into the game and kept things from getting out of control. Clair Marion provided key baskets for Dickinson when they needed them. Eventually, the half came to an end with the Fords clinging to a two-point lead as the halftime score was 25-23.
Landau now accounted for 17 of Haverford's 25 points on 6-of-9 shooting, as the Red Devils just didn't have an answer for her. In the team stats, Haverford won the first-half turnover battle by one and shot a slightly better percentage (31 percent) from the field than Dickinson (27 percent).
The game continued its back-and-forth action in the second half with Dickinson eventually taking the lead with five minutes to play in the third quarter. To no surprise, Landau continued to provide the scoring for the Fords, pushing her total to 21 points. With Haverford trailing by four with a minute to play in the quarter, Robinson chased her own miss to convert a layup plus a foul. She drained the free throw to bring the Fords within one, as it was the last bit of action before the fourth and final quarter.
Robinson got the first basket of the fourth with 8:14 remaining to give the Fords a 34-33 lead. The team talk seemed to work after the third, because Haverford dialed up the defensive pressure, causing Dickinson to turn the ball over in back-to-back possessions. Landau then continued her dominating performance with a floating mid-range, while Erin Albright followed that up with a sweet mid-range jumper of her own to push the lead to five. With Haverford scoring the only baskets of the fourth quarter, Dickinson was forced to take a timeout to talk things over.
With five minutes remaining in the game, the Fords started to pull away. After the timeout, Landau drained an elbow jumper. Robinson, who had a stellar final quarter, scored on a driving layup with 4:41 remaining. With just under four minutes left, Flamini drained a three-pointer before Landau provided the dagger three with 3:09 on the clock.
Dickinson couldn't recover from the onslaught of baskets coming from the Fords. The final horn sounded after Haverford outscored the Red Devils 22-5 in the final quarter. Robinson secured a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Flamini added eight points, seven rebounds, and two assists. The Fords made a season-high six threes on the afternoon, while 10 of their 21 made shots came from an assist.
On Tuesday, the Fords continue conference play with their home opener against Washington College for BLUE Night to raise awareness for Type 1 Diabetes. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside Gooding '84 Arena and is the first game of a doubleheader, as the men's team play at 8 p.m.