SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Swarthmore College women's basketball team could not hold on late as McDaniel College rallied to defeat the Garnet, 56-54, in a Centennial Conference battle on Saturday afternoon.
 
Swarthmore led by as many as 16 late in the first half but the Green Terror outscored the Garnet, 20-9, in the fourth quarter to come back for the victory. Alyssa Hayashi led the Garnet with 12 points followed by Dana Bandurick with 11.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore held a slim 7-6 lead with 5:43 left in the opening quarter. The Garnet then tallied seven in a row to increase the margin to eight (14-6) at the 3:49 mark. Swarthmore hit all three of its shot attempts, including a three by Katelyn Becker, and forced two turnovers on defense during the stretch. The Garnet took a 16-9 advantage into the second.
 
- After McDaniel tallied four points to start the second quarter, Swarthmore took off for 13 consecutive points to take its largest lead of the contest (29-13) with 2:45 to go in the first half. The Garnet shot 5-of-9 during the run as six different players contributed points. The Swarthmore defense was swarming as well, with the Green Terror going 0-for-8 from the field with four turnovers.
 
- McDaniel recovered and finished the period with a 12-2 surge to close the gap to six (31-25) at the break. The Green Terror shot 5-of-6 to conclude the frame while the Garnet went just 1-for-5 from the floor.
 
- Swarthmore began the third quarter with nine of the first 11 points to up the difference to 13 (40-27) with 3:57 on the clock. Five different players scored during the sequence. McDaniel got four points back by the end of the stanza and trailed 45-36 entering the final period.
 
- The Green Terror netted six of the opening eight points in the fourth to cut the deficit to five (47-42) with 7:28 to go. After a three-point play by Bandurick, McDaniel answered with seven more points to get within one (50-49) at the 5:22 mark. Bandurick and Hayashi made layups around a pair of Green Terror free throws and the Garnet held a three-point edge (54-51) with 2:10 remaining.
 
- McDaniel went to the line at 2:00 and made both shots to make it a two-point game. Swarthmore missed a pair of shots and the Green Terror gained possession before getting fouled. McDaniel sank both free throws again for its first lead of the game (55-54) with 1:25 left.
 
- The Garnet had two shot unsuccessful shot attempts prior to their final possession. The Green Terror added one final point at the line to go ahead two (56-54) with nine seconds to play. Swarthmore missed one last jumper and a putback attempt also would not go as time expired. McDaniel had 13 of its 20 fourth-quarter points come at the charity stripe.
 
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Hayashi 12, Bandurick 11
Rebounds: Bandurick 6
Assists: Neve Yair 3
Steals: Carly Murphy 3
 
UP NEXT
The Garnet (10-11, 8-8 Centennial) travel to Ursinus College for a matchup with huge playoff implications on Tuesday. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.