SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Swarthmore College women's basketball team outlasted the Washington College Shorewomen to claim a 68-65 victory at Tarble Pavilion on Thursday night in Centennial Conference action. With the win, the Garnet improve to 6-0 (3-0 CC) on the season; the program's best start in the Centennial era.

Junior guard Katie Lytle claimed the lone double-double of the game with 22 points and 13 rebounds. She collected 9 of 11 free throws, including going 5-for-5 at the line in the first half. Elle Larsen put up 13 points for the Garnet and grabbed seven boards, while senior Madeline Ross tallied 12 points, one assist and two steals on the night.

Kelly Mitchell led the offense for Washington College (5-2, 3-2) with 18 points, including 5-for-9 beyond the arc, while Ashley Espinosa paced 17 points off the bench. Latisha Pledger grabbed 21 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards.

With just over two minutes remaining, the Garnet led 64-58 after a pair of good free throws from junior Kayla Moritzky – she totaled 5-for-6 at the line – however, the Shorewomen cut that lead by six before Swarthmore could respond, draining the clock to 35 seconds with a score of 64-62. The Garnet went 3-of-6 at the free throw line, now ahead 67-62, before Espinosa collected on a three-pointer to put the Shorewomen one possession behind with 18 ticks remaining. The Garnet defense forced Washington College away from the three-point arc in the final ticks to hold onto the victory.

The Shorewomen got on the board first with a game-opening three pointer from Mitchell - she added another just over a minute later for a 6-3 Washington College lead. Freshman Jessica Jowdy, adding eight points off the bench for the Garnet, pulled up for a good jumper to knot the game at 10 with 14:57 on the clock. The visitors claim a 28-20 lead with 9:19 remaining before Swarthmore connect on three straight possessions with a three-pointer from Jowdy and layups from Ross and Larsen to shrink the margin by one with 6:01 on the clock.

The scoring margin never reached double-digits and saw multiple ties throughout the first half, however with 1:44 remaining, the Garnet took over the lead for good off a free throw from Lytle after the equalizer from Larsen to carry Swarthmore to a 40-35 halftime advantage.

Swarthmore gained 18 points off turnovers and 22 points from second-chances, while Washington College held an advantage in points off the bench with 25.

The Garnet will travel to Gettysburg on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off before entering the winter break.