BY VICTOR BRADY

In print | Published January 21, 2010

The Garnet women’s basketball team tied the Ursinus Bears on Saturday, giving the team its third tie this season in on-the-road Conference play. But after winning in the final seconds at McDaniel and at Dickinson earlier in the year on game-wining shots from Katherine Stockbower ’11 and Ceylon Bodur ’11, the Garnet ended the Saturday game with a loss, dropping to 3-6 in Centennial Conference play and 6-8 for the year.

The Garnet entered Saturday looking for its first three-game winning streak of the season. Trailing by 12 with 4:43 remaining, the Garnet ran off 12 straight points, tying the game on a Stockbower free throw with 18 seconds remaining. But the Bears’ Alli Rosati was fouled with three seconds remaining and hit both free throws as Ursinus won 66-64.

The loss capped a rollercoaster week that began with Bodur hitting a game-winning layup against the Red Devils on January 12. But Stockbower believes that the loss to Ursinus will be strong motivation for the stretch run of the season.

“The loss to Ursinus definitely hit us hard, but I think that after our initial disappointment we were able to step back from our emotions and look at it as a learning experience. If anything, it forced us to examine our weaknesses as a team and made us even more determined,” said Stockbower, the Centennial Conference’s leading scorer and rebounder at 19.4 points and 13.6 rebounds per game.

Pam Costello ’10, a senior guard and captain, added, “Ursinus was a tough loss for us, but we know that we need to stop dwelling on Ursinus and really focus on the upcoming game with all of our energy.”

Even after Saturday’s loss, the Garnet finds itself just 1.5 games out of the fifth spot in the Centennial Conference standings (the top five teams in the Conference make the playoffs), a testament to strong play since the start of 2010 and a renewed commitment to defense.

Coach Renee DeVarney, in her fifth year on the bench for the Garnet, has been extremely impressed by the defensive effort of her team. “We’ve been playing much better defense since [the start of the New Year]. We had some good practices right when we came back [from winter break] … and the defense has really played a big part for us.”

Since the start of the New Year, the Garnet has allowed just over 54 points per game while scoring almost 64. The players recognize the defensive improvements as well, as both Stockbower and Costello identified defense as the team’s biggest area of improvement since the start of the season.

“We made some major changes second semester in terms of our team defense and this improvement has shown in our statistics and records from second semester. This semester we have held more than one team to their lowest shooting percentage and among their lowest scoring games,” said Captain Costello, who is third on the team in steals.

Stockbower also said that the team has become mentally tougher as the season has progressed. “In the beginning of the season we consistently came out flat in the second half, but now we are doing a much better job of playing the entire 40 minutes.”

This improved toughness has spread from the seniors all the way to the freshmen, who have made important contributions throughout the season. Madeline Ross ’13 is fourth on the team in scoring and steals while Eliza Polli ’13 scored 14 points in a critical win at home over Franklin and Marshall. Katie Teleky ’13 has been sidelined for injury for much of the year, but the team knows that she will contribute when she returns.

“All three freshmen have been great additions to our team. [Ross] adds a spark of energy every time she steps out on the floor, Eliza is a consistent contributor, and we are looking forward to having Katie back once she is fully recovered…” Stockbower said.

This increased depth has the Garnet continuing to believe that they can make a run at the Centennial Conference playoffs. “…In the past, we haven’t had as much depth as we would have liked, and the freshman have [really increased that depth]. We don’t have a weak link on the team – we have all good and solid players who can play at any time,” DeVarney said.

The Garnet, who defeated Haverford 56-52 on Wednesday night to move to 7-8 overall and 4-6 in conference play for the season, returns to action on Saturday, hosting the Gettysburg Bullets at 2 p.m. at the Tarble Pavilion. Action will be streamed live online via the Garnet Sports Network through athletics.swarthmore.edu.

« RETURN TO SPORTS

« PREV ARTICLE | NEXT ARTICLE »