Box Score SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Swarthmore College women's basketball team notched its second straight victory, with a 60-48 defeat of Cabrini College (1-1) to claim the 2012 Swarthmore Tip-Off Tournament title.
Katie Lytle, earning All-Tournament MVP honors, collected her second double-double of the season leading the Garnet offensive with 21 points and 13 rebounds, also a team-high. Lytle also went 8-for-10 at the charity stripe.
Elle Larsen racked up 17 points for the Garnet and eight rebounds to earn All-Tournament accolades as well.
Laura Caron tallied 17 points for the Cavaliers to lead the offensive effort, while Megan Decker contributed 10 rebounds and nine points to be voted an All-Tournament player by her coaches.
Lytle struck with the game's opening points with her first of three treys on the day for a Swarthmore lead that was never contested.
The Cavaliers, hitting just 19 percent in the first half, got marks on board at 17:23 followed by another jumper before suffering a seven minute scoring draught.
Madeline Ross converted on both free throws to give the Garnet a 10-point, 14-4, advantage with just under 10 minutes in the first frame. In the 6-0 run, Larsen hits the layup and foul - missing the three-point opportunity – followed by Kayla Moritsky downing both free throws for Swarthmore's largest lead of the half, 18-4.
Snapping a scoreless streak at 7:40, the Cavaliers grabbed its first strong momentum of the half with a 6-0 run, closing the gap to 18-10.
At the half Swarthmore led 26-18 and had as large as a 14-point advantage during the first stanza.
The early minutes of the second half, the ball was controlled by Cabrini. Swarthmore committed two early fouls to which the Cavaliers hit all four shots, bringing the score to 26-21. The visitors would stay within a five-point margin until about the quarter-mark of the half.
Nearing the 10:00 minute mark of the second half, Cabrini shrunk the Garnet lead again with a downtown shot from Brittany Sandone to make it 37-31.
Polli hit back-to-back jumpers for a 41-33 Swarthmore lead with under eight minutes remaining.
Another three-pointer from Lytle, followed by a three-point conversion from Larsen gave the Garnet some breathing room at 48-40 with just over two minutes to play. At 2:54, Larsen was fouled again and hit both free throws for a 10-point cushion. The final two minutes saw many Cabrini fouls as the Garnet locked in the victory at 60-48.
Earlier in the day, Washington & Lee defeated Chatham, 61-39, in the consolation game. Rachel McClain of Chatham and Alena Hamrick of Washington & Lee also earned All-Tournament honors on the weekend.
Swarthmore will open Centennial Conference action with a trip to Dickinson on Tuesday, November 20th. Game is set for 6:00 p.m.
