LANCASTER, Pa. – Senior Caroline Murphy (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) turned in her third consecutive 20-point outing as the Gettysburg College women's basketball team clinched a spot in the Centennial Conference playoffs with a 64-55 win at Franklin & Marshall College on Wednesday night.
Gettysburg's (15-8, 10-7 CC) win coupled with a loss by Ursinus College lifts the Bullets into the fifth and final spot in the conference playoffs. Gettysburg closes the regular season schedule at McDaniel College (18-5, 13-4 CC) on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 1 p.m.
Murphy, who reached 1,000 career points in her last outing, scored a game-high 24 points for her third 20-point effort in row, the longest such streak since Jennifer Bengel '06 posted a trio of 20-point performances at the start of the 2005-06 season. Murphy's scoring output was bolstered by a perfect 12-for-12 showing at the free throw line. She tied the school's single-game record for most free throws made and she set a new mark for most free throws made without a miss.
The Bullets trailed early until a 10-point run capped by a three-pointer by senior Katie Earley (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) put the visitors ahead 14-6 midway through the opening period.
Franklin & Marshall (3-21, 1-16 CC) came back to tie the game twice in the final minutes of the half before a pair of free throws by junior Samantha Pagel (Harleysville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) gave Gettysburg a 27-25 lead at the break.
The Bullets led by 10 (48-38) following another three-pointer by Earley with 11:04 left in the contest. Murphy's fourth personal foul two minutes later opened the door for a comeback by the hosts as the Diplomats cut the deficit to three (50-47) with 5:35 to play.
Kristina McCarthy canned a lay-up to trim the deficit to one (52-51) at 4:09. Murphy and Pagel stopped the comeback cold, each scoring six points as part of a 12-4 run to end the game.
Murphy added four rebounds, two assists, three blocks, and a pair of steals to her offensive output. Since the start of the second semester, the senior forward is averaging 17.6 points per game and has posted five 20-point games.
Pagel finished with 10 points after shooting 2-of-3 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the foul line. Senior Alyssa Isler (New Hope, Pa./New Hope-Solebury) added 11 points and Earley dropped in nine on the strength of three three-pointers.
Gettysburg finished an impressive 23-of-24 from the charity stripe (95.8 percent). The team shot 18-of-47 from the floor (38.3 percent) and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc (71.4 percent).
McCarthy led F&M with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Sarah Haddon also notched a double-double with a dozen points and a dozen rebounds.