LANCASTER, Pa. – Junior Jessica Porter (Narberth, Pa./Lower Merion) turned in a career-high 28 points and Gettysburg College canned a season-high 50 percent of its field goals in a 79-55 victory at Franklin & Marshall College inside the Mayser Center Tuesday night.
Gettysburg (12-5, 7-5 CC), which held only a two-point advantage at halftime, put up 45 points in the second half and finished 33-of-66 from the field for the game, marking its best shooting percentage since hitting 26-of-50 attempts (52 percent) against McDaniel College on Jan. 22, 2014.
Porter blasted her previous collegiate-best scoring output by six points. She finished 13-of-24 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Porter also grabbed seven boards and blocked two shots. Freshman Annie Reilly (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) posted a personal high with a dozen tallies and swatted away three shots.
It was a back-and-forth first half featuring five ties and three lead changes. After Franklin & Marshall (5-12, 2-12 CC) took an 18-16 lead, the Bullets went on an 11-2 run to jump in front 27-20 with 6:01 left in the first half. The Diplomats sliced the deficit to two (34-32) heading into the locker room.
After pouring in 13 points in the first half, Porter opened the final stanza with an old-fashioned three-point play to spark her team. Gettysburg quickly built the lead to double-figures at 48-37 following a jumper by Porter at 15:07.
The visitor's lead did not dip below 10 the rest of the way and jumped to 24 (73-49) following a 10-2 run which spelled the end of the day for the starters with 3:25 remaining in the contest.
Gettysburg torched the nets in the second half, hitting 18-of-31 (58.1 percent) of its field goals. The Bullets out-scored the Diplomats 50-12 in the paint and picked up 26 points off turnovers.
Senior Samantha Pagel (Harleysville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) posted eight points, while classmate Jenna Swope (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) tossed in seven points. Both seniors dished out four assists.
Four players reached double-figures for F&M with Sarah Haddon and Anajha Burnett each finishing with 11.
Gettysburg returns to action this Saturday, Jan. 31, with a non-conference match up against Bryn Mawr College inside Bream Gym at 4 p.m.