LANCASTER, Pa. — There was no answer for Taylor Alwine Saturday evening in the Elizabethtown College women's basketball team's season-opening victory over Marywood. The Pacers could not stop the senior forward as Alwine recorded a game-high 30 points to lead the Jays into the championship game of the Terry Greene Memorial Tournament hosted by Franklin & Marshall.
Alwine had the hot hand all game long, starting off 5-for-5 before missing her first shot. She helped push Elizabethtown (1-0) out to a 15-6 lead by contributing six points to an 8-0 run engineered by the Blue Jays to extend the lead.
The defense, meanwhile, held Marywood (0-1) to 2-of-9 from the floor, though the Pacers hung in with five free throws in five attempts. E-town controlled the glass, though, and had an early 11-5 advantage in rebounds.
Emma Hoesman and Marissa Gingrich played in their first collegiate games, and both contributed to the Jays' win. The two combined for 12 points on 4-of-7 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the foul line. Gingrich converted a steal by Alyssa Aichele into a layup to give E-town its biggest lead of the game at 12, 31-19, with a little over a minute before the half. EC led 31-31 at the break.
Marywood chipped away at the Blue Jays' lead in the second half, forcing Elizabethtown into turnovers and missed shots to crawl back into the game. Lisa Steakin's three-pointer capped off a 16-10 run to start the final period to get MU within four points at 41-37 with 11 minutes remaining.
E-town continued to rely on Alwine, who shot 6-for-8 in the second half, to help hold off a Marywood comeback. After another trey got the Pacers within two, Alwine hit back-to-back shots to push EC's lead back up to six. Erika Ferro tacked on another two points before Alwine finished off the 8-0 run that got the Jays back up by double digits with 7:28 left to go.
It was a two-possession game down the stretch and Elizabethtown would have to sink its foul shots in order to keep its lead. In the final 2:15 of the game, Krissy Pennell and Alwine each went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. For the game, E-town shot 18-for-23 from the foul line.
Alwine, who sank her final two foul shots with five seconds left, finished the night with 30 points. It was the first 30-point performance from a Blue Jay player since February 2012 when Nadine Yunginger went for 31 against Alvernia. Alwine shot 11-for-15 from the floor and a perfect 8-for-8 at the foul line.
Pennell added eight points, five assists, and four rebounds. Emily Martin handled the glass with ten points while scoring seven points. Alyssa Aichele and Hoesman each had five steals.
Elizabethtown will face Hood in tomorrow's championship game. The Blazers beat host Franklin & Marshall in the opening game of the tournament, 68-54. Game time for the championship game is 7:30 p.m.
