Defense Leads Women's Basketball Past Bryn Mawr, 60-33

BRYN MAWR, Pa. - A strong defensive effort and balanced scoring attack led the visiting Swarthmore College women's basketball team (9-14, 7-12) to a convincing 60-33 victory over Tri-Co rival Bryn Mawr (0-23, 0-18) on Tuesday evening.

Nine of Swarthmore's 10 players found the scoring column, led by sophomore Katie Lytle's 13 points. Freshman Elle Larsen added 10 points, junior Madeline Ross scored nine points and senior Nicole Rizzo added seven. Lytle also pulled down 10 rebounds to record her 12th double-double of the season.

The Garnet's defense wreaked havoc all evening long, holding the Owls to just 33 points -- a season-low for the Swat defense -- while forcing 29 turnovers. Swarthmore also swiped 20 steals, led by a team-high six from sophomore Kayla Moritzky.

Bryn Mawr was led by Nicolette Parmese's 13 points.

The win snaps the Garnet's five-game losing streak.

Swarthmore wasted absolutely no time following the tip, scoring the game's first 16 points to take a commanding 16-0 lead with 14:03 remaining in the first half. Lytle scored eight points in the opening run while Larsen added six.

A lay-up from Parmese finally got the Owls on the scoreboard at the 13:45 mark, and from that point Bryn Mawr played the Garnet fairly even for the remainder of the half. A jumper from Bryn Mawr's Sorraya Terrab at the 4:23 mark cut the Garnet lead to seven points at 25-18 before Swat regained the momentum. Three lay-ups from Ross in the final three minutes of the first half saw Swarthmore go back on top by double-digits heading into the locker room (34-21).

In the opening minutes of the second half, each team struggled to find its scoring rhythm, giving the Owls a chance to hang around before Swat ultimately turned the game into a rout. While comfortably ahead by at least 15 points the entire second half, the Garnet truly closed the door on the game with a contest-ending 14-2 run over the final seven minutes.

Swarthmore closes out the 2012 season at home on Saturday against arch-rival Haverford. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. with Senior Day ceremonies proceeding the game.