GETTYSBURG, Pa. The Haverford College women's basketball team (15-1, 18-3) toppled No. 19 Gettysburg (19-2, 15-1) on Saturday afternoon at Bream Gym, snapping Gettysburg's 19-game win streak in remarkable fashion with a thrilling 54-51 victory. Julianna Clark swiped the inbounds pass on the final Gettysburg offensive possession with less than three seconds remaining to send Haverford into a tie for first place in the Centennial Conference.
Anna-Sophia Capizzi paced all scorers with 20 points, while Clark and Megan Furch each added 10 to Haverford's tally. Haverford turned 19 Gettysburg turnovers into 18 points to help key the triumph. Haverford has now beat a ranked opponent in each of the last three seasons, after dispatching a ranked Gettysburg team on the road for the second straight campaign.
The Fords began the contest on a scorching 12-2 run, with Capizzi pouring in seven points in the first six minutes of game action. Haverford pushed the tempo from that point, with Clark nailing an emphatic three-pointer, prompting an early Gettysburg timeout. Capizzi then hit a straight away trey to run the lead to 15-2, but a quick 11-1 spurt from the Bullets tightened things a bit, bringing the hosts to within a single possession with under a minute left in the first. Megan Furch added a layup before the first quarter buzzer, and Haverford led by five entering the second.
Gettysburg took its first lead of the contest at 19-18, crawling all the way back from its big early deficit, and Ashley Gehrin prompted a Haverford timeout with a three-pointer to put her team up 22-20 with 5:15 left in the first half. Clark connected on a layup to tie the score at 22-all, and later put Haverford up by four entering the intermission with a triple that came with under a minute remaining.
A quick 8-4 advantage out of the halftime gates for Gettysburg tied the score at 30-30, and neither team got much separation in the stanza as the Bullets had answers for Haverford's solid free-throw shooting, tying the game at 36-36 entering the final quarter with a pair of their own at the line. Capizzi knocked down a three with 6:06 remaining in regulation to put Haverford ahead, but Carley Rice had an immediate answer for the hosts, putting Gettysburg ahead by one at 44-43.
A Cortlyn Morris runner later put Haverford back ahead by a pair, but again it was the Bullets pulling to within one. Furch returned fire, as she connected on a jumper to give the Fords a 49-46 cushion, but Rice was there yet again to tie the score at 49-49 with a three-pointer that came with under two minutes to play. Capizzi finally gave the Fords the lead for good with a jumper with 41 seconds left, and Haverford went up four as Clark converted a pair from the charity stripe.
Emma Hanner put Gettysburg back within one with a layup, but the Bullets were forced to send Morris to the line. The first year put Haverford up by three, setting the stage for Clark's steal to seal the win. The Fords displayed another strong defensive effort, with Clark contributing four steals, including the game-clincher, to pace her squad. The two teams each collected 37 rebounds, but Haverford held the 14-11 advantage on the offensive glass. Nyla Robinson posted four offensive rebounds in a standout showing.
Haverford now wraps up its four-game road trip on Wednesday night at Muhlenberg. The contest is slated for a 6 p.m. start and will be followed by the Haverford men taking on the Mules at approximately 8 p.m.