HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's basketball team (3-2, 1-2 CC) continued Centennial Conference play on Thursday evening at Gooding Arena, falling to visiting McDaniel (5-2, 1-2 CC) by a final score of 49-43.
As has been the case in the grind-it-out Centennial Conference landscape this season, things started in a defensive battle for both sides. McDaniel took an early 6-2 lead following a bucket from Tara McConnaha with 4:20 left in the first, but a jumper from Abby Ryan and a triple from Gia Flamini quickly restored the Haverford lead. McDaniel held an 11-7 lead after the first frame, with the Fords struggling from the field, connecting on just 3-of-15 in the early going.
With just under eight minutes left in the second, Haverford pulled even, with Abby Ryan earning a second-chance layup to tie things at 11-11. Flamini lit up the bench with her second triple of the half, as Haverford went back ahead by one at 14-13 with 6:41 remaining in the stanza. The two teams traded buckets for a stretch, with Flamini drilling yet another from beyond the arc at 4:44, and Shae Mercer then gave the Fords a three-point cushion with four minutes left.
McDaniel quickly erased the lead on Kennadi Johnson's three, but a 6-0 Haverford run gave the hosts some breathing room entering the intermission. The second half saw the Fords begin with a blazing performance from the field, stretching that run to 16-0 behind the first 10 points of the third period. Audrey Jakway made an immediate impact after subbing into the contest with 5:06 remaining in the third, connecting on back-to-back treys as suddenly Haverford was in command, up 16 at 37-21.
Unfortunately for the Fords, the big run was a launching point for the Green Terror to mount a sustained run of their own. McDaniel notched a 17-0 run from that point, taking the lead down to just 11 at the end of the third behind strong play from Jessica Weinoldt and Raegan Lenz. Lil Overcash connected on a jumper, and Weinoldt notched a fast-break layup to pull within five at 8:35 remaining as Haverford committed turnovers on three consecutive possessions, struggling to contend with the swarming full-court press of McDaniel.
Overcash and Elaina Beckett connected in succession, with Beckett giving the visitors the lead back with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. Stunned, Haverford looked to the free-throw line to tie the score at 38-38, but Carli Vogel put McDaniel back up by two with 3:19 to go.
A Siena Emuobor layup with 1:35 to go put the Fords back within one, but a huge triple from Overcash gave the Green Terror a two-possession lead with just over a minute to go. McDaniel, which struggled from the free-throw line (11-for-28), turned to Overcash, who made the big shots when it counted down the stretch, sealing things with consecutive trips to the line in the final 20 seconds.
Haverford was plagued by 20 turnovers, which the visitors turned into 18 points. In a balanced scoring effort, Gia Flamini paced the hosts with 12 points, while Mercer and Jakway each added eight. Abby Ryan collected a game-best 11 rebounds.
Overcash (11 points) and Beckett (10) were the two scorers in double figures for McDaniel, as Beckett also chipped in eight boards.
The Fords now return to action on Saturday, facing a tough non-conference test against No. 3 Christopher Newport. The Captains come into Haverford riding an NCAA all-divisions best 33-game road winning streak.
Action is slated to begin at 1 p.m. inside Gooding Arena as the game will be part of a doubleheader that also sees men's basketball taking on Franklin & Marshall in Centennial Conference action at 3 p.m.