CHESTERTOWN, Md. - The Haverford College women's basketball team (13-6, 10-4 CC) continued a three-game road swing with a trip to Washington College on Thursday (12-7, 8-6 CC), falling to the host Shorewomen by a final score of 53-45.
Ally Landau collected 20 points, including a trio of three pointers, to pace Haverford in the contest, while Gia Flamini notched 10 points. Kayla Robinson had a game-best 19 rebounds, matching a career high while narrowly missing yet another double-double effort with nine points.
Haverford struggled to find its offensive rhythm to start action, with a 1-for-8 performance from the field in the first four minutes of play as the Shorewomen began the contest on a 6-2 run. After Cortlyn Morris added a pair at the free-throw line, Gia Flamini poured in a three to give Haverford a 7-6 lead midway through the first quarter.
Haverford still couldn't quite break free of the Washington College defensive pressure from that point, with another field goal drought mounting as the Shorewomen notched a 6-0 run to take a 12-7 lead. Robinson broke that stretch deftly with a jumper as the Washington College lead was just three at the end of the first quarter.
The Fords later tied the contest up with a tidy 5-0 spurt, with points that came mostly from the charity stripe, knotting the score at 12-12. A Joy Sanders layup with 4:34 left in the second gave the hosts a four-point cushion to prompt a Haverford timeout. Off the heels of that stoppage, a Landau triple cut the Washington lead to just one with 4:18 to play in the half, but the Shorewomen closed out the half on a 9-0 run to take a 10-point cushion into the intermission. Sanders was integral in that stretch as she finished the first half leading all scorers with nine points.
Morris opened a fast-paced second half with a corner jumper, and Landau followed on the next Haverford possession with a layup as the lead was trimmed to just six. Morris converted again with 7:01 to play, prompting a Shorewomen timeout as suddenly Haverford had all the momentum back with a 6-0 run out of the halftime break. Landau hit from deep yet again as Haverford was back within four at 28-24. A quick 5-0 response from the Shorewomen caused the Fords to call for a timeout with 5:22 remaining in the third.
The timeout seemed to allow Haverford the adjustments it needed, as Landau responded in force with a 7-0 run all on her own, grabbing a quick layup and connecting on yet another three-pointer, trimming the lead back down to four. Haverford was within two as she finished a driving free-throw line floater, and Flamini made it a 9-0 spurt, prompting WAC into a timeout with 2:39 remaining in the third, as the contest was tied at 33-all.
Robinson scored to make it an 11-0 Haverford run with 1:36 to play, giving the visitors their first lead since midway through the first quarter, but Washington had an immediate answer, with a 7-0 run of their own. The stretch was keyed by Andrea Prestianne, the leading scorer in the contest with 22 points (13 from the free-throw line). With the momentum of the contest back on the home side, the Shorewomen took a five-point cushion into the final quarter.
Washington's run continued into the fourth, as the Fords were held scoreless for nearly five minutes in total before Landau connected on yet another triple, trimming the lead to 42-38, as Haverford had the contest back within four yet again with 7:20 left in regulation. Robinson trimmed the advantage further, putting Haverford within just one possession at 42-40 with 6:15 remaining.
Unfortunately for Haverford, another sustained scoreless stretch unfolded from that point as Washington opened up a 7-0 stretch to take a 9-point lead with just 44 seconds remaining in the contest. The stretch ended with Landau's layup with 38 seconds to play, but Washington was able to take advantage of trips to the free-throw line to seal a home win.
Haverford had the advantage in free-throw attempts, and benefitted from some clutch offensive rebounds, but Washington College was the more efficient team, pouring in 16-of-47 (34 percent) while holding the visitors to just a 28.3 percent clip from the field. Washington College also made the most of its free throws, pouring in 19 of 23 from the line.
Women's Basketball will now look to regroup on Saturday with another trip to Maryland to face off with McDaniel. The contest at the Green Terror is slated for a 4 p.m. start and will be preceded by the men's team taking on the hosts at approximately 2 p.m.