GRANTHAM, Pa. –Gettysburg College fought to the bitter end against William Paterson University in the opening game of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament, but eventually the dust settled on a 71-64 decision in favor of the Pioneers inside Brubaker Gym on the campus of Messiah College Friday night.
Gettysburg (21-7) saw its surprising season come to a close with the third-best win total in school history. Freshman Jessica Porter (Narberth, Pa./Lower Merion) capped an outstanding debut season with a season-high 22 points. She also grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. Juniors Rianna Doane (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) and Alyssa Isler (New Hope, Pa./New Hope-Solebury) tallied 11 and 10 points, respectively, while junior Caroline Murphy (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) grabbed 10 rebounds.
"I think we came a long way," said Gettysburg Head Coach Mike Kirkpatrick. "I don't think anyone expected us to be conference champs or make the NCAA Tournament to be honest."
Kristine Jackiewicz led William Paterson (21-7) with a career-high 21 points. Jackiewicz, who also grabbed a dozen boards, finished 8-of-16 from the field, including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Dana Jeter added 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, while Ashley Marfo grabbed 13 boards. The Pioneers will face host Messiah (24-4), which defeated Lancaster Bible College 84-51, in Saturday's second-round game at 6 p.m.
William Paterson led for the majority of the game, but the Bullets refused to go away. The Pioneers jumped in front by five early in the second stanza only to see Gettysburg fire back to tie the game. Isler helped the cause with a pair of three-pointers early in the second stanza, the second knotting the game at 35-all with 16:04 to play. Despite having an opportunity to take the lead, the Bullets missed on their next offensive possession, allowing Jackiewicz to hand the lead back to William Paterson for good with a three-pointer less than a minute later.
"Early in the second half they went to their 1-2-2 and I thought we got some really good stuff out of it," said Kirkpatrick. "You have to finish them to make them pay, and we didn't do that often enough. They hurt us on the boards so we weren't getting many opportunities."
Gettysburg would pull to within a possession several times under the 10-minute mark, but each time the Pioneers had an answer. After sophomore Jenna Swope (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) knocked down a pair of free throws to pull to 53-51 with 4:31 to play, Jackiewicz came right back on the other end and knocked down yet another three-pointer.
William Paterson steadily added to its advantage and jumped in front by 10 (65-55) with just over one minute left. The Bullets continued to battle, picking up a lay-up by junior Katie Earley (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) before forcing a turnover on the in-bounds and getting a lay-up from Doane to slice the deficit to 69-64 with 16 seconds left.
Sara Luberto converted two free throws to put the lead at seven and Gettysburg's luck ran out as two three-pointers were off the mark in the final 15 seconds.
William Paterson put Gettysburg to the test physically early in the game. The Pioneers posted a 34-24 advantage on the boards in the opening half, leading to a 13-2 advantage in second-chance points.
"I knew it was going to be a new season and a new level of play," said Porter. "I was preparing for a hard game which it was. Everybody wanted to win really badly and everybody played really hard."
Led by Porter's 12 points in the opening half, Gettysburg remained within striking distance despite the rebounding deficit. The Bullets jumped in front 16-15 after Doane picked up a steal and converted in the open court at 8:38. William Paterson would regain the advantage, but Doane would lift her team in front once again by knocking down a jumper to make it 20-19 with 6:29 left in the half.
The Pioneers turned in the next five points before Porter knotted the game at 24-all with back-to-back buckets. Jackiewicz capped the half with a lay-up to give William Paterson a 26-24 lead at the break.
Gettysburg put up a season-high 25 three-pointers, but only canned five. William Paterson out-rebounded the Bullets 58-46 and made its shots at the charity stripe, finishing 18-for-21 in the contest.
Gettysburg was picked to finish fifth in the conference and after a 1-3 start, the Bullets did not have thoughts of a conference title or an NCAA bid on their minds. However, Gettysburg went on a tear to start 2013, winning 17 of its final 19 games heading into the national playoffs, including capturing its first Centennial Conference title.
"We came in thinking we'd have a good season, but we wanted something great," said Porter, "Our growth throughout the season was so phenomenal and just how hard we wanted it for each other was nice to see in my first year."
Gettysburg has no seniors on its current roster. All three of its all-conference selections – Murphy, Isler, and Porter – are slated to return for Kirkpatrick, the 2013 CC Coach of the Year.
"We know we played a good team in an NCAA Tournament game, but we didn't play our best game," said Kirkpatrick. "I don't like to lose and I know they don't as players. Maybe that pain will be a motivator to work hard in the offseason and improve individually and as a team between now and October."