COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Freshman Emily Gibbons' (Annapolis, Md./Severn School) three-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer, sealing a 51-48 decision against Ursinus College and sending the Bullets to their fifth consecutive loss on the Bears' home court.
Gettysburg (10-3, 5-3 CC), which dropped its third-straight game, has not won inside Helfferich Hall since a 59-38 decision on Dec. 12, 2009. Four of those losses have been decided by four points or less. Ursinus (6-8, 5-3 CC) shot only 30 percent from the field, but took advantage of 20 Bullet turnovers to score 20 points.
After missing Tuesday's game due to injury, Gibbons shouldered the offensive load for Gettysburg with 23 points. She finished 11-of-20 from the floor and grabbed nine rebounds. Senior Samantha Pagel (Harleysville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) added nine points, while junior Jessica Porter (Narberth, Pa./Lower Merion) posted seven points and eight rebounds.
Jessica Porada scored the final three points for Ursinus and finished with 19. Porada also grabbed eight boards, while Caroline Shimrock tallied 10 points.
Ursinus roared out of the gates and put Gettysburg down by 10 (12-2) in less than five minutes. Gibbons tallied her first bucket at 15:03 and averaged nearly a point per minute in the opening half to lead Gettysburg back into the contest. A three-pointer by the first-year capped a 15-4 run and gave the visitors their first lead of the game at 17-16.
The Bears picked up eight of the final 10 points in the opening stanza to take a 24-19 lead at the break.
Gettysburg tied the game early in the second half, but Ursinus remained on top and held a 35-29 lead following a pair of free throws by Shimrock with 12:16 to play.
The Bullets ran off 12 unanswered points with an old-fashioned three-point play by Porter make it 41-35 with just over eight minutes on the clock.
The hosts weathered the storm and eventually reemerged in the lead as Olivia Kane canned a three-pointer from the corner to make it 47-45 at 4:48. Gibbons missed a three-pointer a minute later, but she corralled the loose ball and stuck it back in the hoop to tie the game.
Ursinus retook the lead with a free throw and following another turnover by the Bullets, Porada extended the lead with a lay-up with 2:44 remaining. Gettysburg was unable to find the spark in the final minutes, turning the ball over twice and missing three shots. The Bullets ran a pair of out-of-bounds plays inside the final 10 seconds with the last leading to Gibbons' off-target trey attempt from the right wing.
Gettysburg shot 39.2 percent (20-of-51) from the floor, but just 1-of-12 from beyond the arc. The Bullets out-rebounded the hosts 47-31 and blocked eight shots, including a career-high five by junior Emily Duggan (Marmora, N.J./Ocean City).
Gettysburg visits Swarthmore College (4-9, 1-6 CC) on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 1 p.m.