LANCASTER, Pa. - The Haverford College women's basketball team (6-3, 3-2 CC) came from behind to unseat Franklin & Marshall (4-5, 2-3 CC) on Saturday at the Mayser Center, rallying for a 50-40 victory behind a 20-9 advantage in the fourth quarter.
The Fords had two scorers in double figures, with Ally Landau leading the way with 18 points and nine rebounds. Kayla Robinson was again a force inside, posting her third double-double effort of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Cortlyn Morris also put her stamp on the contest with seven points, nine rebounds, and a season-high five blocks.
Haverford struggled to find consistency in the early goings, but eventually settled into an offensive rhythm to take a 13-8 lead following Gia Flamini's three-pointer with 2:11 to go in the initial period. A 6-0 run put the Diplomats out in front for the first time, and that spurt eventually stretched to 15-2 with Maia Lockhart and D'Naisha Bellamy-Greene each connecting from long range to put Franklin & Marshall in command with 3:50 to go in the half. Robinson played a big part in Haverford's response, with a pair of buckets and two free throws before the half to trim the lead to just six going into the intermission.
Robinson kept working well into the second half, fighting through traffic for a layup with 9:42 to play in the stanza. Flamini then poured in a pair of jumpers to put Haverford within one at 4:17 to play. In the fourth, the Fords were rewarded for their perseverance, gaining the lead for the first time since the first quarter as Landau connected on back-to-back jumpers to put Haverford up by three at 34-31. A 6-2 stretch for Haverford put the Fords up 42-37, and some tough defensive pressure limited the F&M opportunities to crawl back.
Flamini, Robinson, and Morris were clinical at the free-throw line at the end of the contest, taking some of the pressure off the Haverford defense down the stretch as the visitors scored their final six points from the charity stripe. A steal from Robinson with 28 seconds remaining sealed things for the Fords, sending Haverford to a 17th consecutive victory over Franklin & Marshall.
The Fords limited the Diplomats to just 23.9 percent from the field, and a 2-18 clip from beyond the arc. Haverford held a 33-30 advantage on the glass and forced 10 turnovers from the hosts.
Women's Basketball now returns home for two contests before final exams and the winter holidays, hosting Bi-Co neighbor Bryn Mawr on Wednesday (6 p.m.) before a rematch of the last three Centennial Conference Championship games against Gettysburg on Saturday (1 p.m.). Each of the games are part of doubleheader action with the men's team following.