LANCASTER, Pa. – Fourth-ranked Gettysburg College out-scored No. 7 Franklin & Marshall College 11-2 in the second half on the way to a 15-7 decision and the program's 11th Centennial Conference championship in women's lacrosse Sunday at Shadek Stadium.
 
For the fourth consecutive season, the No. 2 seed took home the title at the expense of the host institution. Gettysburg (16-2) avenged a regular-season defeat to Franklin & Marshall (16-4) with a dominating display, particularly in the draw circle. The Bullets grabbed 19-of-24 draw controls in the game.
 
"We saw them earlier in the season and it didn't go as planned," said junior Steph Colson (Westminster, Md./Manchester Valley). "We didn't change much. We just capitalized on what we did wrong last time and we just played a lot better. We finished our shots, got a ton of draw controls, and our defense looked incredible."
 
Colson was named the CC Championship Most Valuable Player after totaling three goals, one assist, and nine draw controls Sunday. The junior midfielder put up three goals and seven draw controls in the team's semifinal victory over Washington College. Colson also moved into second place on the program's season list with 95 draw controls.
 
"It's really cool to be tournament MVP, but I think anyone on the team could have gotten it today," said Colson. "We played lights out today as a unit and I think it could have gone to anyone on the team. I'm so proud of everyone."
 
Senior Katie Willis (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) followed up a career-high seven-point effort in the semifinals with four goals and two assists against the Diplomats. Junior Lauren Cole (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) set a personal high with three goals, while sophomore Liza Barr (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) produced two goals and one assist. Senior Katie Landry (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) surpassed 250 career points with a goal and three assists.
 
Gettysburg trailed 5-3 following back-to-back goals by Franklin & Marshall in the first period, but the offense kicked it into high-gear with 11-1 run over the next 30 minutes. After Maddie Hughes tied the game 6-6 with 22:06 to play, the Bullets rattled off eight consecutive goals, including two each by Cole and Colson. Colson's final tally in traffic off a feed from Willis made it 14-6 with just 5:59 to pay.
 
"Something coach had been stressing the last couple days is we really need to stay loose because we play better when we're out there, we're having fun, and we're working together as a unit," said Willis. "That was really important for us this weekend. Everybody was really relaxed and comfortable."
 
With the offense racking up its 11th outing with 15 or more goals this spring, the defense stepped up and shut out Franklin & Marshall for nearly 17 minutes in the second half. Sophomore Daphne Budd (Darien, Conn./Darien) racked up two caused turnovers and two ground balls in the second half, while junior goalie Bailey Pilder (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) rebounded from an off-day in the cage with a game-high 10 saves Saturday
 
"I think yesterday our defense didn't play as a unit as much as we would have liked and I didn't have my best game of the season," noted Pilder, who has logged 40 saves in four wins over top 10 teams this season. "I think today we communicated well. We definitely studied their plays and we knew how to attack every single player. I think we really came together as a unit on both ends of the field."  
 
Gettysburg finished with a 30-20 lead in shots and a 12-8 advantage in ground balls.
 
The Bullets head to the NCAA Division III Championship for the 17th consecutive season after claiming the conference's automatic bid. Gettysburg enters as the defending champ after claiming its second national title last spring. The rest of the field and sites will be announced during the NCAA selection show Sunday night at 9 p.m.
 
For the Bullets, the glow of winning the Centennial title will quickly fade as the staff and players refocus on the next big goal.
 
"I think we just have to keep playing our game," said Willis about the upcoming national playoffs. "This past weekend everything was just clicking for us. We know that when we come out to practice every day we're playing our hardest. I think we're going to continue to push ourselves and get better and better every day."