SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Swarthmore College women's basketball team overcame a late deficit to beat Franklin & Marshall, 60-56, in overtime on Saturday afternoon.
Swarthmore jumped out to a double-digit advantage in the first half. The Garnet allowed just four field goals in the opening 20-minutes, while forcing the Diplomats to settle for mostly low-percentage threes. Franklin & Marshall then flipped the script in the second half to outscore the Garnet, 32-22, at the end of regulation.
Despite falling behind by three points in the final seconds, Alyssa Hayashi sent the Garnet to overtime with a clutch three-pointer with five seconds left in regulation. Norah Wingfield then hit a crucial three-pointer with 2:35 remaining in overtime to put Swarthmore ahead for good.
Hayashi and Wingfield led the way for Swarthmore with 14 points, respectively. Wingfield shot 5-of-7 from the field with a big-time three-pointer to lift the Garnet in overtime.
Dana Bandurick also scored in double figures with 12 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the year.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore's defense locked down Franklin & Marshall as they held the Diplomats scoreless in the final six minutes of the opening quarter. The Garnet finished the stanza on a 11-0 run with four points from Wingfield and Hayashi, respectively. Their defense also forced 10 turnovers in the opening quarter as they entered the first intermission with a 15-4 advantage.
- Neve Yair opened the second quarter with a jumper for the team's 13th-straight point. The Diplomats eventually broke a nearly eight-minute scoring drought with a free throw at the 8:53 mark. Franklin & Marshall shrunk its deficit to single digits with four free throws in the span of 20 seconds. The Garnet regained ground with consecutive layups from Bandurick and Emily Smith, but surrendered a Diplomats three-pointer to end the half, 27-17.
- Swarthmore picked up where it left off as it held the Diplomats without a field goal for the first three minutes of the third quarter. The Garnet maintained their distance against the Diplomats until the home team gained ground late in the stanza with an 8-0 run to end the quarter, 35-31.
- Franklin & Marshall pulled within one point with a three-pointer at the 9:01 mark in the fourth quarter. The Diplomats then nailed a three on their following possession to tie the game before going ahead with a pair of free throws, 41-39. Franklin & Marshall held a three point lead in the final seconds of regulation until Hayashi sent the game to overtime with a three-pointer with five seconds left, 49-49.
- Carly Murphy opened the overtime with two buckets for Swarthmore until the Diplomats tied the game with a three-pointer. Wingfield then countered with a three-ball of her own to put the Garnet ahead by three points with 2:35 left. Swarthmore maintained its lead the rest of the way as Bandurick helped seal the victory with four free throws in the final minute of play.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Hayashi, Wingfield 14
Rebounds: Bandurick 10
Assists: Bandurick, Yair 3
Steals: Yair 5
UP NEXT
The Garnet (7-7, 5-4) wrap up their two-game road swing at Haverford College on Wednesday.
