GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Freshman Jessica Porter (Narberth, Pa./Lower Merion) poured in a dozen points and juniors Caroline Murphy (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) and Katie Earley (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) each added 10 as the Gettysburg College women's basketball team picked up its first Centennial Conference victory with a 54-48 decision over Johns Hopkins University inside Bream Gym Thursday night.
Gettysburg (2-3, 1-1 CC) led by as many as 10 in the second half and held Johns Hopkins (2-5, 0-3 CC) without a field goal over the final 4:43. Porter finished 5-of-11 from the field en route to a season high and added five rebounds and three assists. Earley and Murphy each nailed a pair of three-pointers with the latter grabbing six rebounds. Junior Cori Younghans (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury) added eight points and sophomore Jenna Swope (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) picked up seven points and six rebounds.
Alex Vassila and Stacy Fairey each tallied a dozen points for Johns Hopkins. Vassila led the team with eight boards, while Fairey and Fatu Conteh each grabbed seven rebounds.
It was a slow start offensively with only one field goal by either team in the opening five minutes of play. Johns Hopkins led early on, building its advantage to 19-13 on a jumper by Sarah Higbee at 7:10.
Gettysburg used a 7-0 run capped by a lay-up by Porter to take its first lead of the game 20-19 with 3:21 to go in the opening frame. The Blue Jays scored the final three points to take a 23-20 advantage into the locker room.
The offense started to flow in second half for the home team with an 18-5 run. Murphy knocked down a pair of threes and two free throws to lead the spurt, while Porter accounted for the final seven points with a trey making it 38-28 with 11:21 to play.
After a three-pointer by Earley made it 47-37 with 5:56 on the clock, the Blue Jays mounted a run of their own. Fairey tossed in the final five points of an 8-0 run to make it 47-45 with just 3:27 remaining.
Gettysburg locked down defensively, holding the visitors off the scoreboard for the next three minutes. In the meantime, Swope knocked down a pair of free throws and Younghans converted a lay-up in traffic to make it 51-45 with 46 ticks left.
Johns Hopkins found no give in the Bullets' defense as the visitors went 0-for-7 from the field after Fairey's final three-pointer. Junior Alyssa Isler (New Hope, Pa./New Hope-Solebury) capped the game with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left.
Gettysburg held Johns Hopkins to just 27.9 percent shooting from the field. Both teams committed 18 turnovers, but the hosts turned those turnovers into 17 points. The Blue Jays won the battle of the boards 47-39.
Next up for Gettysburg is a road trip to Bryn Mawr College on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 2 p.m.