BALTMORE – Junior Jessica Porter (Narberth, Pa./Lower Merion) scored 16 of her game-high 22 points in the second half to lift the Gettysburg College women's basketball team to a 53-46 victory at Johns Hopkins University Wednesday night. 

Gettysburg (15-6, 9-6 CC) moved one step closer to clinching a playoff spot with a win over Johns Hopkins (14-8, 11-5 CC). The Bullets are three games ahead of Ursinus College (8-14, 6-9 CC) with three regular-season games remaining. 

Gettysburg, which entered the game as the national leader in defensive field-goal percentage, held Johns Hopkins to 28.1 percent shooting in the contest. Porter recorded her fourth 20-point effort of the season, finishing 7-of-15 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. She also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

Senior Jenna Swope (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) added 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists for the Bullets. 

Gettysburg, which won for the first time inside Goldfarb Gym in four years, trailed Johns Hopkins for nearly the entire first half. The Blue Jays surged out to a 20-10 lead following a jumper by Rachel Cook at 7:33 in the first period. 

The Bullets grabbed momentum with a 13-2 run to end the stanza. Junior Kim Ryan (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) knocked down a three-pointer at 1:18 to give the visitors a 23-22 lead heading into the locker room. 

Gettysburg relinquished the lead briefly following an old-fashioned three-point play by Beatriz Williams which made it 28-27 with 17:11 left in the game. Porter regained the lead with a pair of free throws and the Bullets' defense held the Blue Jays to just one field goal over an eight-minute span following Williams' field goal. 

Porter scored 14 points in the final 9:53, beginning with five-straight points to put Gettysburg in front by nine (41-32). The lead reached double-figures for the first time at 44-34 on a three-pointer by freshman Emily Gibbons (Annapolis, Md./Severn Park) at 7:56. 

Johns Hopkins closed the gap to one possession after a three-pointer by Jessica Brown trimmed the lead to 49-46 with 1:29 remaining. Following a missed three-pointer on Gettysburg's next possession, Porter scooped up the offensive rebound and drew contact to head to the line for the one-and-one. She missed the free attempt, but the junior raced to the hoop and grabbed the offensive rebound for the easy lay-in.

The Blue Jays missed five field goals inside the final minute of play, while Porter knocked down two more free throws with nine seconds to go to ice the game. 

Gettysburg finished 18-of-43 (41.9 percent) from the floor and out-rebounded Johns Hopkins 42-31. 

Williams led the Blue Jays with 11 points, three blocks, and four steals. 

Gettysburg will face Haverford College (13-9, 11-4 CC) on the road on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 1 p.m.