HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's basketball team (15-9, 13-7 CC) charged into an 11th consecutive Centennial Conference tournament with a resounding 51-38 win over visiting Swarthmore (11-13, 9-10 CC) on Wednesday night inside Gooding Arena, leading wire-to-wire to even the season series with the Garnet. The Fords opened the contest on a 23-5 run, to help set the tone and eventually cruised with a renewed second-half focus.
Kayla Robinson had another standout performance, with 17 points and 17 rebounds for her 19th of the season. Robinson also made some program history, breaking the Haverford single-season program record for both offensive rebounds (146) and total rebounds (331). The offensive rebounding mark was previously owned by Elida Wylie '86, who grabbed 141 offensive boards in 1984-85, while the total rebound mark was owned by Koren Miller '95, who notched 321 in the 1994-95 campaign. Gia Flamini was the other scorer in double figures for the Fords, knocking down a trio of shots from beyond the arc and also collecting four assists. Ally Landau notched eight points while adding five assists, and three steals to four rebounds in a well-rounded effort.
Haverford was clicking on all cylinders in the early goings, with Flamini connecting from distance in the opening moments, eventually drilling two consecutive treys for an early 8-2 advantage. The lead ballooned from 8-4 to 21-4 as the Fords unleashed a 13-0 run before Alyssa Hayashi converted a free-throw with 45 seconds left in the first quarter to stop the onslaught. Landau and Robinson took command in that ferocious stretch, while Erin Albright also connected from deep and added a layup at the end of the frame.
In the second, Haverford suddenly went cold, as the Fords were held without a field goal after the hot-shooting first quarter. Swarthmore catapulted right back into the contest behind strong play from Dana Bandurick and Anna Hanson, jetting out on a 12-1 run to cut the Haverford lead at the half to just seven at 24-17.
After the intermission, the Fords seemed to find a groove yet again, as Cortlyn Morris connected on back-to-back buckets and Robinson poured in a layup to restore a nine-point cushion. Flamini poured in her third trey of the game for a 40-27 lead with 1:07 left in the frame, and Flamini also opened the fourth with a layup. Landau gave Haverford a 14-point lead with her three-pointer with 8:21 to go, and Robinson then sent in consecutive layups as Haverford took a 20-point lead, the largest of the contest, into the final six minutes of action.
Swarthmore closed the contest on a 9-2 run, but Haverford held a sizable enough advantage to work in some reserves in the closing moments as Brianna Feifer, Michela Jones, Annabel Flint, Zoe Carlson, and Abigail Clark all saw some time in the final two minutes.
Haverford had a strong night from beyond the arc, converting at a 42.9 percent clip while outshooting the Garnet 36.2 percent to 29.4 percent from the field overall. The Fords dominated the rebounding game, with a 45-31 lead in that category, and also scored 14 of their 51 points off Swarthmore turnovers. Bandurick was the only Garnet player in double figures, tallying 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Fords have now concluded the regular season and will embark on an 11th consecutive trip to the Centennial Conference tournament, opening up action with a First Round contest at home against Muhlenberg on Tuesday, February 21. More details, including game times, are still to be determined.