Emma Dorshimer, Gettysburg
HAVERFORD, Pa. – Sophomore Emma Dorshimer (Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) scored a game-high 19 points as Gettysburg College knocked off top seed Haverford College 59-55 in the semifinals of the Centennial Conference Championship Friday night at Gooding '84 Arena.
Gettysburg (20-7) advances to the third title game in program history where it will face two-time defending champion Muhlenberg College (19-7), which defeated Dickinson College 55-51 in Friday's second semi. The Bullets and Mules will meet Saturday at 4 p.m. in Haverford, Pa.
Dorshimer hit a trio of three-pointers and went 6-of-6 at the free throw line to lead the Bullets. Her biggest shot was a lefty scoop shot as the shot clock expired which gave Gettysburg a 54-51 lead with 2:05 remaining.
Freshman Emma Hahner (Forest Hill, Md./C. Milton Wright) produced 13 points, while junior Emily Gibbons (Annapolis, Md./Severn School) put up 11 points and seven rebounds. Gibbons saw her conference record streak of consecutive double-doubles come to an end at 14.
Sierra Berkel led Haverford (19-7) with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Samantha Wetzel produced 10 points and seven rebounds.
Riding the energy of a boisterous crowd, the hosts ran out to a 14-7 lead following a jumper by Wetzel. Haverford ended the first quarter with a 16-12 advantage.
Gettysburg seized the lead midway through the second quarter on a three-pointer by freshman Kiera Cesareo (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) which made it 21-18. The Bullets maintained the upper-hand throughout the quarter and entered the break leading 26-24.
The visitor's advantage grew to seven (33-26) on a three-pointer by Hahner with 7:06 left in the third quarter. Haverford was not out by any means and stormed back to tie the game at 40 on a pair of free throws by Macy Goldbach at 1:55. Gettysburg slipped into the fourth quarter with a slim 43-42 lead.
The Bullets continued to hold off the Fords in the early minutes of the final period until a jumper by Megan Furch and a three-pointer by Anna-Sophia Capizzi put the hosts in front 49-47 with 5:25 left. Following a free throw by Gibbons, a costly turnover by Haverford led to a jumper by Hahner to lift Gettysburg back in front for the final time.
The Fords faltered down the stretch, managing just one field goal attempt after Capizzi's three before a three-pointer by Berkel with four seconds left. Haverford also went 1-of-6 from the free throw line over the final 2:34.
Dorshimer was clutch, nailing the aforementioned lay-up and converting two free throws to push the lead to 56-51 with 43 seconds to play. Cesareo nailed two freebies with nine seconds left before Berkel's three-pointer rattled home to cut it to 58-55 with four ticks left. Freshman Ashley Gehrin (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) polished off the win by hitting the first free throw before intentionally missing the second.
Gettysburg finished 20-of-49 (40.8 percent) from the floor and committed a season-low seven turnovers. Haverford finished 20-of-48 (41.7 percent) and out-rebounded the Bullets 36-31.
Gehrin finished with eight points and four rebounds off the Bullets bench. Junior Kendra Meredith (Boyds, Md./Northwest) dished out eight assists.
Gettysburg is making its third championship game appearance. The Bullets lost to Muhlenberg in 2008 before claiming the program's first Centennial title in 2013. The two teams have squared off four times in the conference postseason with the Mules winning in 1997, 2008, and 2011 and the Bullets winning in 2014.
Box Score
Brandi Vallely, Muhlenberg
HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Muhlenberg women's basketball team built an early lead and held on to beat Dickinson 56-51 in a rematch of last year's Centennial Conference semifinal.
Muhlenberg moves on to its ninth Centennial Conference championship game in the last 12 years with the victory. The Mules will face Gettysburg, who defeated host Haverford in the first semifinal, in Saturday's championship game scheduled for 4:00. Muhlenberg is 3-1 against the Bullets in the CC playoffs, including a 75-70 win in the 2008 championship.
The Mules (19-7) jumped out to a 17-8 advantage after one quarter, but the Red Devils (18-8) brought the margin down to four at halftime. Muhlenberg grinded it out the second half and forced 10 of Dickinson's 17 turnovers in the latter half, including eight in the final period.
Junior Brandi Vallely recorded her sixth double-double of the season, leading the Mules with 20 points and 11 rebounds. She made all four of her steals in the final period as well, which moved her into ninth place for career steals (173) in school history.
Junior Chelsea Gary added eight points, eight rebounds and three assists while junior Rachel Plotke also chipped in eight points. Senior Maggie Zerbe collected seven rebounds to go with five points.
Muhlenberg played strong out of the gate, going on an 11-0 run over a six-minute stretch to build a 15-3 lead. The Mules made it 17-4 on a Gary feed to junior Jess Voltaggio, but Dickinson scored the next seven points to climb within six.
The Red Devils cut the deficit to three with 2:28 left in the first half, but Vallely (pictured above) hit a three-pointer from the top of the key and then assisted a Carley Hamilton layup on the next possession, giving the Mules a 24-16 advantage. Dickinson however closed the half scoring the final four points to make it 24-20 at halftime.
Muhlenberg again increased the margin to double digits in the third period, with junior Christina Manningswishing a baseline jumper to provide Muhlenberg its largest lead of the game at 36-22. The Red Devils rallied back to within five of the Mules, who entered the final period leading 39-32 and scored the first five points of the fourth with a Gary layup and Plotke three-pointer to go back up by 12. Dickinson could not drop the deficit lower than six the rest of the way and Muhlenberg closed the game making five-of-six free throws in the final minute.
The Mule defense held Dickinson to 29.3 percent shooting in the game and the offense only turned the ball over eight times. Muhlenberg scored 19 points off Dickinson's 17 turnovers.
Muhlenberg is now 23-13 overall in the CC playoffs, which is the most wins for any CC team, and has a 14-7 record in the semifinals. The Mules improved to 5-2 against Dickinson in the CC playoffs, having won each of the last four meetings. Muhlenberg will be seeking its conference-record 10th CC championship and the first-ever "three-peat" in conference history.