SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Junior Katie Lytle lit up the box score with 15 points and 16 rebounds for her sixth straight double-double performance as the Swarthmore College women's basketball team (15-2, 11-1) collected a 69-44 victory, sending the ice-cold Haverford College Fords (10-6, 7-5) home with their second straight loss.
Along with her 11th double-double on the season Lytle racked up three blocks, three steals and two assists on the night. Elle Larsen tallied 12 points and five boards for the only other double-figure scorer.
The Swarthmore bench put together a nice performance with 21 points including eight from Jessica Jowdy and seven from Abbey Deckard. The freshman duo hit a combined three treys and five buckets. Deckard shutdown Haverford shooters with three blocks along with four rebounds and one steal.
With the victory, Swarthmore hits the 15-win mark in just 17 games, which matches the 2000-01 Centennial Conference championship team.
The Garnet went on an 11-0 run during the opening 10 minutes - including four free throws from Lytle - to take a commanding 17-4 lead and set the tone of the game.
Elizabeth Casey made a huge save on the baseline to touch the ball back to Larsen for a buzzer-beating jumper to give the Garnet a 31-21 lead and momentum heading into the break.
Swarthmore controlled the boards with a 19-10 advantage in the first half, while also shooting a perfect100 percent at the free throw line (9-for-9) and 50 percent from the field (11-for-22).
The Garnet defense made all the difference in this game, as the Fords made just one bucket over opening 15 minutes of the second half en route to a stale 22.9 (8-for-35) shooting percentage in the second half. Swarthmore collected five blocks in the last frame alone, including two from Lytle - as the Garnet finished with a season-high eight blocks.
Swarthmore closed out the victory hitting a season-high 50 percent from beyond the arc and its second-best free throw accuracy of the season of 81 percent (17-for-21).
In a series that's typically known for close-scoring games, the Garnet won by the largest margin since 2004 which reflected a 73-42 score in Swarthmore's favor.
Dominique Meeks and Victoria Sobocinski each tallied eight points for the Fords and Rachel Baskin notched nine. Haverford was plagued with poor accuracy all night, hitting just 28.1 percent (18-for-64) and 53.8 percent on the line (6-for-11).
The Garnet return to Tarble Pavilion on Saturday with a key Centennial Conference match-up with the Gettysburg College Bullets. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.