Center Valley, PA (December 21, 2010) – The DeSales University women's basketball team forced 28 turnovers and scored 31 points off those turnovers en route to a 64-51 win over Gwynedd-Mercy College in non-conference action before the Christmas holidays on Tuesday evening in Billera Hall.
GMC (6-2 overall) entered the game averaging just 18 turnovers per game but the Bulldogs (6-4 overall) full-court pressure got to them, especially in the first half when DSU used a 20-6 run over the final six minutes to open up a 45-27 halftime lead. DeSales, on the other hand, did a terrific job of taking care of the ball, committing just 14 turnovers as compared to 15 assists.
Sophomore Colleen Gavin had a season-high 18 points, 14 in the first half, to go along with four steals to lead the DeSales attack. Senior Lori Lidlow added 17 points, including a 3-for-5 effort from deep and freshman Sondrine Glovas tallied 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Junior Cherelle Simmons added nine points and cleaned the glass with 12 boards in the win.
Kristy McGrath had a game-high 19 points and pulled down nine boards for the Griffins and Bryn Cotteta added 12 points and five assists in the loss. Leading scorer Brittany Neill was held to just eight points and had seven turnovers.
After a back-and-forth first 12 minutes of the game, DeSales really took control with its 20-6 run to end the half. Gavin led the charge, scoring 10 of her 14 first-half points during the spurt. GMC had 16 of its 28 turnovers in the opening half.
In the second half Gwynedd made a run, dropping back into a zone that stifled the Bulldogs for a stretch as DSU was unable to score and set-up its press. Trailing, 53-35, GMC reeled off 13 straight points over the stretch of four minutes as the Bulldogs clung to a 53-48 lead.
A steal and lay-up from Glovas ended the run and the Griffins then went cold, failing to score over the next 8:26 and the Bulldogs used an 11-3 run to end the game.
In addition to the scoring leaders, junior Hannah Smith played well dishing out six assists and totaling four steals to go along with just three turnovers in the game.
The Bulldogs are now off until Tuesday, January 4th when they host Baruch College in another non-conference game beginning at 6:00 pm.