WESTMINISTER, Md. – Swarthmore College Women's Basketball clinched a spot in the Centennial Conference postseason tournament with a 50-45 victory over McDaniel College on Saturday.
 
With the victory, the Garnet claimed the fifth and final seed in the Centennial Conference tournament. Swarthmore received some help after Gettysburg defeated Muhlenberg, 70-62, on Saturday.  The Garnet earned their seventh appearance in the conference tournament, and first since the 2012-13 campaign.
 
Elizabeth Stiles opened the scoring just seconds into the game with a layup. Kim Kockenmeister took the ball from Liv Storer and the sophomore put home the fast break layup. Abigail Pirron provided Swarthmore with a 9-5 lead as the senior knocked down a mid range jumper. The Green Terror (10-15, 6-14 CC) closed out the first quarter with a 10-9 lead.
 
Less than a minute into the second quarter, Kockenmeister snagged the ball from Jamese Word, making for the sophomore to put back another fast break layup. After a McDaniel layup, Stiles regained the lead for Swarthmore as the senior knocked down a jumper. The Garnet finished the first half with a 22-16 advantage, including a 9-0 run in the final two and half minutes. McDaniel was held to six points and 0-of-6 from three-point range.
 
In the fourth quarter, McDaniel clawed their way back into the game by getting within three points on a Natalie Mehl jumper. With just under three minutes remaining in the game, Mehl added a three-pointer to make it a 45-43 Swarthmore lead. Mallory Conroy tied the game at 45-45 with .46 seconds remaining in the contest.
 
Immediately out of a timeout, Christina Holmgren netted a layup to give the Garnet the lead for good. Stiles added a crucial block on Ellie Connelly with .19 seconds remaining in the game. The senior added a free-throw, while Kockenmeister added two free-throws to close out a 50-45 Garnet victory.
 
Stiles finished the game with a game-high 14 points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist. Holmgren closed the game with 11 points, eight rebounds, and one block, while Kendall Tribus added 10 points, eight boards, three assist, two blocks and two steals.
 
Kockenmeister added 10 points, four steals, two rebounds and two assist. Pirron finished with five points, five rebounds and an assist.
 
The Garnet finish the regular season with a 13-12 overall record and 10-10 in conference play. The 13 victories are the most by a Swarthmore team since the 2013-14 season, where the Garnet finished with 13-11 record. The 10 wins in Centennial play is the most since 2012-13 when Swarthmore finished 15-5 in league action.
 
Swarthmore travels to Carlisle, Pa. to take on fourth-seeded Dickinson (15-10, 13-7 CC) on Tuesday for the first round of the tournament. Dickinson defeated Swarthmore in both meetings this season with the latest decision on February 4th being a 59-52 Red Devils victory. Tip-off against the Red Devils is slated for 7:00 p.m.