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BY VICTOR BRADY

In print | Published February 18, 2010

After a nine-day layoff, with two games postponed as one snowstorm after another blasted Swarthmore College and forced the Centennial Conference to reschedule intercollegiate events, the Garnet women’s basketball team returned to action on Friday, defeating the Washington College Shorewomen before falling to the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Monday evening.

The Garnet had been scheduled to host Johns Hopkins on Feb. 6 and Washington on Feb. 9, but both games were postponed as snow covered the Mid-Atlantic region.

With just one game remaining on the schedule, the Garnet (11-13, 8-11 CC) will be unable to equal their 13-12 record from last season. The Garnet remain steadfast in their desire to end the season on a winning note, though winter has forced the team to remain mentally tough. Pam Costello ’10 said that the last few weeks “have been kind of crazy in terms of our schedule … however, I think that we have been able to stay focused and ready to play.”

The Garnet knew that they would need to be focused against the Blue Jays and Shorewomen, as both teams defeated the Garnet earlier this year, with Hopkins hitting eight 3-pointers and Washington hitting 12 in their respective victories.

On Friday, the Garnet were led by Eliza Polli ’13 and Madeline Ross ’13, who each scored 14 points in a 65-69 victory. Up just two points with less than five minutes to play, Swarthmore seized the upper hand as Polli and Genny Pezzola ’12 hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions.

Against the Blue Jays, the Garnet went down 22 points in the first half of play before battling back in the second half to cut the lead to four. But Hopkins was able to hold on for a 64-54 victory as the Blue Jays beat the Garnet for the 12th time in the team’s last 13 head-to-head matchups.

Coach Renee DeVarney views the loss to Hopkins as an important learning experience for the team. “We have to be ready for everything … Hopkins upset the top team [in the Centennial Conference, McDaniel] on Friday and then lost to Haverford on Saturday. So they are mad, and still trying to get a bye in to the Conference playoffs, and they came out [strong] to begin the game.”

After the initial onslaught, the Garnet women were able to open the second half on a run to cut the game to single digits. “We were able to regroup, but it was too big of a hole to come out of. But I’m very happy that we came back out and played hard, and gave them a good game after halftime,” DeVarney said.

When the Garnet last played Hopkins, back in early December, Kathryn Stockbower ’11 and Ceylan Bodur ’11 scored 32 of the Garnet’s first 34 points. Monday was a different story, as the Garnet used balanced scoring to claw back into the game in the second half. “Since the second semester, we have been a lot better with balanced scoring. Ross and Polli have really contributed and Pam Costello ’10 has been a bigger factor as well. The balance has been really helpful,” DeVarney said.

Though the Garnet has lost several heartbreakers this year, the season has not been without highlights. In the conference, Swarthmore won two road games with last second shots and survived two overtimes to defeat Franklin and Marshall on the road. Costello added another moment, which came over New Year’s weekend, as the Garnet won the Catholic University of America/Days Inn Tournament. “Winning the Catholic tournament was really big for our team. Catholic is a good team and it is really fulfilling to go away on a team bonding trip and come back with a championship trophy.”

Summer Miller-Walfish ’11 believes that the Garnet can build upon the resilience that they showed in Lancaster. “[In beating Franklin and Marshall on their home court], we showed ourselves that we are capable of not giving up and sticking it out to get a tough win. These are lessons that I think are going to be very good for us to carry into next season,” she said.

Though Costello has just one final game left with the team, she has made a lasting impression on the Garnet program. “Over the course of this year, I tried to teach my teammates a lot of things. [I think that both Lisa Schumacher ’10 and I] showed our dedication to the team, our love for the game and our willingness to put time and effort into making the team better. Hopefully this has prepared the younger players on our team for the years to come.”

The Garnet concludes the year against rival Haverford at Tarble Pavilion on Saturday, where the Garnet is just 3-7 on the year. The game will be broadcast online on the Garnet Sports Network through athletics.swarthmore.edu.

In preparation for this game and to honor all of the Swarthmore athletic teams, the Student Athletic Advisory Committee will be hosting a pep rally at Tarble Pavilion on Friday from 9-11 p.m. The pep rally is open to the entire campus and will feature performances from Sixteen Feet, Mixed Company and the Mariachi Band. In addition, there will be free food and t-shirts, a 50-50 raffle with proceeds going to Haitian earthquake relief and the name of the Phoenix will be revealed.

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