FROSTBURG, Md. – Junior Julie McGrory (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) pumped in a career-high tying 21 points to lead the nationally-ranked Gettysburg College women's basketball team to a 76-52 victory over Frostburg State University in the championship game of the Jim Crawley Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday.
Gettysburg (2-0), ranked 16th by D3hoops.com, won the season-opening tournament held at Frostburg State (1-1) for the second consecutive year. The Bullets ended the first half with a 12-point lead and jumped out by as many as 29 in the second half en route to the win.
McGrory was named tournament MVP after averaging 16 points and 4.5 rebounds in the two Gettysburg victories. Senior Caitlin Moser (Wyomissing, Pa./Wyomissing) joined her with all-tournament accolades and finished with seven points and five boards in the finale, while freshman Rianna Doane (Glen Mills, Pa./Bayard Rustin) added 10 points.
Frostburg State, which lost to the Bullets 63-56 in last season's championship game, led twice in the early going, but a 7-0 run by the visitors put the score at 13-6 at 12:39 in the first half. The Bobcats remained within striking distance, keeping the deficit to around six points for most of the half. After a pair of free throws pulled the score to 29-24, Gettysburg erupted for an 11-0 run fueled by five points by senior guard Mary Spicer (Floral Park, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) to jump ahead 40-24.
Gettysburg's momentum carried over to the start of the final half as the visitors scored the first dozen points to push the lead to 52-28 at 14:52. Over the course of the end of the first half and beginning of the second, the Bullets out-scored the Bobcats 23-4.
The lead remained above 19 points for the remainder of the game and reached a game-high 29 (75-46) on a three-point play by freshman Liz Martin (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) with just over five minutes left to play.
Gettysburg held the hosts to under 30 percent shooting (29.6), including just 4-of-15 from beyond the arc. The Bullets shot 42.3 percent from the field and canned 30 free throws, marking its biggest output from the charity stripe since making the same amount against Washington College on Feb. 4, 2006. The visitors also won the battle of the boards 43-35.
McGrory equaled her personal scoring mark set just last season against Muhlenberg. Most of her work came from the free throw line where she connected on 10-of-11 attempts. She was also 5-of-7 from the field and drained her only three-pointer.
Doane finished 3-of-5 from the floor and 3-for-3 at the free throw stripe, while Moser overcame early foul trouble to record her scoring total. Martin posted seven points and four rebounds, while Spicer, sophomore Alyssa Oursler (Middletown, Md./Middletown), and freshman Caroline Murphy (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) each notched six points.
Stephanie Straka and Mindy Sharp led Frostburg with a dozen points and 10 rebounds, respectively.
Gettysburg kicks off the Centennial Conference season by taking on Muhlenberg College in Memorial Hall in Allentown, Pa., on Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 6 p.m. The top-two picks in the conference preseason poll this year, the Bullets and Mules split their season series last winter with each team winning on its opponent's home court.
- Go Bullets –