SWARTHMORE, PA - Swarthmore College Women's Basketball battled off a second half fight by Franklin & Marshall College in Centennial Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Tarble Pavilion. The Garnet, who improve to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play, defeated the Diplomats (5-7, 3-4 CC), 62-49.
Swarthmore opened the game with a 14-10 lead in the first quarter, but added on as they scored 22 points in the second quarter. The first half lead was made possible by 18 points from
Dana Bandurick and six from
Alyssa Hayashi, which came in the second quarter. Seconds into the second frame,
Kim Kockenmeister knocked down a three-pointer to extend Swarthmore's lead. Bandurick and
Emily Smith hit back to back buckets as the Garnet looked to open up a double-digit lead. Just three-minutes into the second quarter, Hayashi scored on a tough layup and was fouled on the play. The first-year guard hit the free throw to convert on the three-point play. With a under a minute to play in the half,
Katelyn Becker hit a mid-range jumper to give Swarthmore a 14-point lead into the break.
Becker grabbed a defensive rebound in the opening minutes of the second half, as Hayashi found Kockenmeister for a fast break layup. Kockenmeister's layup started an 8-2 run for the Garnet as they took a 20 point lead. Behind six points from Kennedy Wilburn, the Diplomats closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run to significantly cut into the Garnet lead. The final frame saw Swarthmore collect four of the first six points, but the Diplomats did not go away quietly. F&M went on a 8-0 run to make it a seven point game with 4:29 remaining. A Natalie Kolb three with 53-seconds left made it a six point game, but Swarthmore hit eight-of-nine free throws to ice the game.
Bandurick finished the game with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Hayashi tallied 16 points and six assist. Kockenmeister added 13 points, four steals and three rebounds. Becker and
Norah Wingfield finished with four points each, while Becker added three steals.
Both teams wore gold shoelaces as the Garnet women's basketball program celebrated the Go4TheGoal campaign, which benefits pediatric cancer research. Swarthmore is back in action on Tuesday as they travel to take on Johns Hopkins in a crucial Centennial Conference game. Tip-off between the teams, who are both 8-2 and 5-1 in league play and tied for second place, is set for 6:00 p.m. Spectators are not permitted to watch the game in person in Baltimore, Md., but they can catch all the action with live video and live stats. The links can be found on the Swarthmore women's basketball schedule.
