GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The third-seeded Haverford College women's basketball team (18-8) was edged in the Centennial Conference semifinals by second-seeded Johns Hopkins (22-3) on Friday evening at Bream Gym. Johns Hopkins withstood the Fords in a grind-it-out fight between two of the top three defensive teams in the nation.

Ally Landau played all 40 minutes of the contest, as she recorded 13 points and eight rebounds in another strong performance for the Fords, with Cortlyn Morris adding six points, nine rebounds, and six blocks in a strong night on both sides of the ball. Kayla Robinson added seven points and five rebounds to her ledger.  Haverford was able to limit standout Diarra Oden to just 10 points and six rebounds, but Christine Corpuz had a huge game stepping into the starting lineup, notching 15 points to pace all scorers on the night. 

Each team began the contest cold from the field, with Landau connecting on Haverford's first trey of the game with 4:07 to go in the first quarter, pulling the Fords to within one at 7-6. A 7-1 run gave the Blue Jays a bit of breathing room, as they went ahead 17-11 with 5:14 to go in the second quarter. Caroline Andersen converted to cut the lead to just four with 3:35 to go in the half, but a 6-0 JHU run gave the Jays a 10-point cushion entering intermission at 23-13. 

Each side struggled to find any offensive rhythm out of the halftime gates, but the Fords made the most of limited opportunities with Landau setting the tone on the offensive end in the stretch. Entering the final quarter, the Fords trailed by eight at 29-21. A 9-4 Haverford spurt later put the Fords back within six with 5:08 showing on the game clock. 

Hopkins responded to the tune of a spurt of their own, restoring a 10-point cushion with 4:15 to go. A 4-0 stretch again put Haverford within six as Andersen finished a layup through traffic with 2:32 to play. Unfortunately for the Fords, Andersen then picked up her fifth foul, ending a 12-point night in the waning moments. Undaunted, Haverford climbed back within six with under a minute to play, but would get no closer as Oden and Corpuz hit their free throws down the stretch to assure a victory for the Blue Jays. 

The Fords won the battle in the paint, 22-18, and outshot the Blue Jays from the charity stripe. Johns Hopkins won the overall rebounding battle by a 40-31 clip, although second chance points did not factor much into the contest with the teams combining for only three total points off offensive boards. 

In her first year at the helm of the Fords, Steph Carideo's squad compiled an 18-8 overall record as well as a 14-6 mark in Centennial Conference play. Haverford made the Centennial Conference tournament for the 10th consecutive season. The Fords will look forward to the 2022-23 campaign with a young squad that saw 10 players make their collegiate debuts in 2021-22 taking a valuable step towards returning to the NCAA tournament. 

Johns Hopkins will now advance to play top-seeded Gettysburg on Saturday at 6 p.m. inside Bream Gym in the Centennial Conference Championship game, with the Centennial's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.